Take My Hand
by Kouga's Eternal
Summary: With donations to the shrine at an all time low, Kagome gets a job as a waitress in an upscale restaurant to help offset costs. Her upbeat personality quickly leads to her becoming a highly requested server, but when, after weeks of declining, she finally accepts an invitation from one of her regulars, she meets a man that will turn her world upside down.
1. Chapter 1

"Kagome, what are you doing Saturday night?"

So... it was that time again, was it? Why she was still so surprised the man asked, she wasn't sure, but knowing what was coming, Kagome kept her voice as level as she could when she answered. "I don't know, Jakotsu. It's only Thursday."

The man sitting at the table before her truly upped his game from previous attempts to get the young waitress to live a little. Their conversations that revolved around Kagome's social life, up to this point, had always been the same. He would ask her her plans, she would tell him she didn't know because it was too early to know, and he would proceed to ask her to go with him to this place or that place. She would politely decline, and that would be that until the next week when it started all over again.

As that night's conversation continued, it was becoming apparent he wasn't willing to take no for an answer this time. Though he did attempt his usual tricks, he added a few more Kagome wasn't wholly sure how to react to, and the longer it went on, the more interested she became in what it was he wanted her to do with him this time.

A devilish smirk pulled at Jakotsu's lips as he leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed. "Then you should totally come out with me on Saturday. Believe me, it'll be a night you'll wish you could remember." Before she could make her normal politely phrased 'no', he spoke again in lowered tones. "If it would make you feel more comfortable, you can always being that really cute friend of yours."

Unable to stop herself, Kagome cut her eyes to another server, who she wouldn't actually consider a friend. The thing with Inuyasha was, he wasn't someone she could stand to be around for an extended period of time because he was an asshole and had this tendency to call her and other women some very, very mean things, and most time the asshole in him came out for no reason whatsoever. Also, as far as he went, she knew he was only working there because his family owned the place, and also only because he got in trouble for vandalism about a month prior. In order to keep the jackass out of jail, Inuyasha's dad had to pay a massive amount of money in restitution, and was forcing Inuyasha to work at the family business until he paid him back every last penny.

Returning her eyes to her regular pain in the ass, Kagome's hip popped out, one arm crossed over her chest and, with a flat palm, held her tray up by her face. "For starters, you do know Inuyasha is engaged, right? Like... to a girl?"

Rolling his eyes, Jakotsu snorted. "I don't want to dick the dolt. He's just really nice to look at."

Blinking at the bluntness in which that was said, Kagome lightly cleared her throat. "Um, okay... anyway, you know I'm working here to help my family's shrine. Everything but gas money goes to pay for that, so I don't have the kind of money needed to go anywhere people that eat here as often as you do go."

Sitting up and leaning forward, his fingertips on the table, Jakotsu's eyes lit up. "That's the best part, Kagome. You don't need to pay for anything, because it's already taken care of." Seeing the well sculpted brow of who had become one of his favorite people slide up her forehead, he explained. "It's Bankotsu's birthday, so my brothers and I are throwing a party for him at the Shikon. Free drinks, free food, and lots of dancing. All you would have to pay for is a tip to the bartender if you feel he deserves one." Not above begging, and hearing once something about using someone's name when you do it, he went that route to see what happened. "Come on, Kagome. I need you there to help protect my virtue."

She actually had to cover her mouth to stifle the bark of laughter that came with his final statement. Once she had that under control she grabbed her tray with both hands and held it in front of her thighs. "You mean make sure you don't make a drunken ass out of yourself, right?"

There was no shame to be found when Jakotsu nodded his head. "Exactly. So, what do you say?"

Biting into her bottom lip, Kagome groaned in her throat. It did sound like fun, and she had never been to the Shikon before, but she had to work Saturday night. Once again cutting her eyes to Inuyasha, she figured she would start there. She knew he was still several hundred short of what he owed his father, and she usually did well on Saturdays. A dinner shift should get him pretty close to paying off his debt. Having that decided, she sighed before nodding to Jakotsu. "I have to work Saturday night, but if I can get my shift covered, I'll think about it."

The man just lit the fuck up. Eyes shining, he smiled wide. "Really?"

Though already questioning saying that out loud, she nodded once again. " _If_ I can get my shift covered. I can't lose this job over a night out."

Asking her for a piece of paper, Jakotsu jotted down an address and held it out to Kagome. " _If_ it happens, meet me here at 6:30."

Looking at the paper in her fingers, her lip curled as she flicked her eyes back to Jakotsu as he filled out his receipt. "What's this?"

Signing his name, Jakotsu stood and smiled at the waitress. "You'll see if you show up."

Stunned for a moment, Kagome then huffed and called out after the man as he made his way to the doors. "This is exactly why I tell you no." Hearing his laugh, and seeing him wave without looking back, she then shook her head and stuffed the paper into her apron before setting about clearing the table. She needed to figure out how to talk the laziest server at the place into working on a Saturday night, and she had no idea how she was going to go about doing it.

While it had been her intention to ask Inuyasha, she had ended up running into Sango, who had actually gotten her the job, when she stopped in to get her pay check. She didn't think she was getting out of asking for a Saturday night cover without explaining why, so when the expected question came, she was ready for it. "You know Jakotsu? My regular on Mondays and Thursdays?"

While it took a moment, Sango cocked her head to the side. "The guy that's always checking out Inuyasha?" When Kagome nodded, Sango giggled. "I'm pretty sure even people who don't work when he's here know who he is."

Having a giggle with her, Kagome grinned. "Well, he asked me if I would go with him to one of his brother's birthday party at the Shikon on Saturday, and..."

When she trailed off, Sango finished the thought. "You wanna go." When Kagome once again nodded, Sango actually put some thought into it before she clicked her tongue. "Well, I'm supposed to have dinner with my grandmother on Saturday, but I can give her a call and see if she would be willing to have lunch instead. I can let you know tomorrow, but Kagome, why don't you just ask Sesshoumaru for the night off? You've been here for almost five months, and not only have you worked every scheduled shift, you're the first to come in on your day off when someone calls off."

Kagome shook her head. "And it's because of that I get Saturday night shifts. I don't want to risk losing it just to go to out. I would rather go to Sesshoumaru after I get my shift covered because it's so soon."

Turned out, she didn't need to. Sesshoumaru, who was not just the bartender extraordinaire, but also FOH manager, overheard their conversation. What was never told to the staff was, if anyone needed their shift covered for any reason, Inuyasha, as part of his punishment, was to cover it if he wasn't already working. The only reason he didn't already work weekend shifts was because their father didn't want any of his actual employees to miss out on a nice payday because Inuyasha was in trouble.

While it was also true there had been past business loss when this onna wasn't working and tables that requested her left after finding out she was off for the night, Sango was correct in her assessment about Kagome's loyalty to her job, and even for the asshole he was, Sesshoumaru would admit she earned a weekend night off.

Clearing his own throat to show his presence, he waited until both wide eyed females were looking at him. He stood as regal as he always did, and he saw Kagome gulp when his vibrant blue eyes locked on hers. "Inuyasha will be more than happy to cover your shift Saturday." When there was the expected outburst from the child, Sesshoumaru cut his eyes to his brother, and Kagome was positive they sparked with malicious amusement. "If you would rather, we can bring the request up with Father. He'll be here in an hour."

Everyone in the kitchen watched as a bucket of ice water flowed down Inuyasha's spine at the statement. Though he was still coiled tight, he let out a hard breath from his nose before looking at Kagome. "Yeah, it's no problem. What's the shift?"

Holy crap was she glad she didn't ask him personally. Scratching the tip of her nose, shrinking under the intense stare, she all but whimpered. "Um... four to close." It was a statement, but it came out sounding like a question.

Before Kagome could tell Inuyasha she made really good money on Saturdays, or Inuyasha could bitch about it, Sesshoumaru beat them both. "Consider it done." Before he left the kitchen completely, he glanced back to one visibly excited onna and a very relieved one. "Bankotsu is a very good friend of mine. Do tell him I said hello." He had every intention of asking him if Kagome actually did show up at the club, because that would be the deciding factor of if she continued to work on Saturdays. He didn't like liars, and refused to work with them.


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome had spent a good portion of Saturday morning and afternoon searching through Hell itself for some kind of birthday present, but she had never once met Bankotsu, so she wasn't sure what to get him. She had met all six of his brothers at the restaurant at one time or another, but he never came in with them. However, she had been told plenty enough stories that involved him, she gathered he had a love of weaponry, and hoped he liked the Feudal Era dagger she found.

Also, she knew The Shikon was the most exclusive club in the city, and as such had a very, very strict dress code. Having never been there, she wasn't wholly sure what it was, so she looked it up, and wasn't even slightly surprised when she had nothing, at all, that followed it. She had spent her day off on Friday scouring the city for every high end boutique she could find, and ended up spending three times as much as she had ever spent on one outfit that would probably never be worn again. It was certainly beautiful and it was definitely worth what she paid, but she never spent two hundred bucks on one dress before.

It was an old kimono style with a high collar, capped sleeves, and a slit on one side in the mid-thigh length skirt that went up to damn hear her pantyline. It was black silk with deep red stitched blossoms and red trim. She already had a pair of black knee high boots, so thankfully she didn't have to spend anything on shoes, and she looked amazing in the dress. It was to her shock her mother also thought so, even with as much leg as it showed.

By the time she got back to the shine after finding the elusive birthday present, she barely had enough time to get cleaned up and dressed before she was supposed to be back on the other side of the city to meet up with Jakotsu where he told her to be at 6:30. It was a half hour drive, and it was half past five by the time she got in the shower. The only thing working in her favor at the moment was she didn't normally wear a lot of makeup, and she was having a good skin day, so she could get away with nothing more than some shadow, liner, mascara, and lip gloss, meaning she was able to take the couple extra minutes to make sure she didn't miss anything when she shaved her legs in the shower because there was nothing covered on them in the dress. It was her hair that was going to be a problem, because it was so thick, it was hard to get all the knots out when it was wet, and it took forever to dry.

Doing the best she could with the time she had, when she was finally done getting ready and giving her whole look a glance in the mirror, she actually thought she could pull off fitting in with the Tokyo Elite for a night. Her hair was in a bun high on the back of her head, her makeup was subtle but made her eyes pop, and the dress fit like it was made for her.

It wasn't until she looked at her clock and saw it was after six she finally started freaking out. Sending a whimpered prayer to the Kami for favorable traffic at dinner time on a Saturday, she grabbed her purse that held her ID, cell, car keys, and meager cash left over after she bought the dress and dagger, and darted from her room. Stopping in the kitchen only long enough to say bye to her mother and snag the present her mother wrapped for her while she was in the shower, Kagome was out the door, the heels of her boots clicking against the pavement as she thundered down the shrine steps to her car.

She wasn't sure which one of the Gods smiled down on her, but she caught more green lights than red ones, a first since probably about the time she started driving, and pulled into the driveway that belonged to the address Jakotsu gave her with two minutes to spare, pulling to a spot next to a car she recognized as Jakostu's from when she had to help carry Renkotsu's overly intoxicated ass out of the restaurant. Not surprisingly, that was the last time she had seen that particular brother. Toga-sama had been less than impressed, and since for the most part Sesshoumaru was friends with the swarm of Akasaki brothers, Renkotsu's over-step hadn't gone well for Sesshoumaru, who wasn't even there that night. From what she had been told the next time Jakotsu came in following that, not only had Sesshoumaru informed Renkotsu he was never to return to the restaurant, but he beat his ass pretty good, too.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, and letting them out slowly through puckered lips, Kagome cut the engine, but before she could open her door, someone else beat her to it. Startled, she jumped slightly in her seat before whipping her head up and to the side, locking her shocked eyes on Jakotsu's amused ones. "You scared the shit out of me."

There was a chuckle in the man's throat, but he merely took a step out of her way so she could get out of her car. Making sure her keys didn't get locked in her car, he shut her door and let his eyes roam her form, an impressed look settling on his features. "You look amazing. It's _almost_ enough for me to consider batting for the home team for a night."

A dark blush creeped across Kagome's cheeks, and she licked her lips. "Um... thank you." Giving him a once over as well, she giggled. "You look the same as you always do." He did, too. She wasn't sure how many shades of pink there were, but this man generally always wore one of them when she saw him, and this time was no different. He wasn't wearing a tie and left more buttons on his shirt than what most people would leave unbuttoned, unbuttoned, but paired with the stark black slacks and sports jacket, and he did look very nice. The man-bun aside of course. That was never really her favorite hair style for a guy, but it certainly fit his personality, and it's not like she actually stood a chance with this particular man, so her opinion on his hair pretty much meant dick.

Looking around the parking lot, she tilted her head to the side. "So, what's with meeting here and not there?" Clicking her tongue, she hummed. "And what is here, anyway?"

Knowing the girl had never been to Shikon before, he was patient when he explained the situation with a wink. "Royal treatment." When she cocked a brow at him, he held his arm out to the side, indicating her to look where she pulled in, and at the limo that was pulling in. Hearing her gasp, he chuckled. "Three things to always remember about this place. Parking at the club is a nightmare, the valets are a bunch of thieves, and the bartenders have limper wrists than I do so they pour heavy. This is my condo complex, so your car will be safe here."

If the man wasn't gay ten ways to Sunday, Kagome would seriously question herself on how wise it was to get into a car with him, but after so many times of hearing how put off he was over the female form, it was with a decent level of excitement she looked back at him. "Seriously?"

Grinning back at her, he cocked his head and crossed his arms. "I do believe you told me it has been months since you've gone out anywhere, and that you have never once been in one. Figured, kill two birds and all that. Besides, if you die driving home tonight, who will wait on me twice a week?"

Eyes crinkling in the corners, she grinned back. "Certainly not Inuyasha."

Playfully grabbing his chest, Jakotsu over dramatically showed his hurt. "Just rip my heart out and stomp on it, why don't you." When she giggled, he smiled at her as the limo came to a stop in front of them. "Are you ready for this?"

Cue the damn butterflies. Doing her best to shake them off, Kagome nodded with a smile. "Uh, yeah, just a sec." Turning back to her car, she opened the driver's door, reaching across the length of the car, and picked up the present and her purse that sat on the passenger seat. Fixing her dress after backing out, she closed the door, locked her car, and thanked the man that held the back door open for her as she tucked her keys away.

Taking a seat, she crossed her legs as she looked around the space. It wasn't anything outlandish you saw in movies or anything like that, but it was still pretty nifty with it's mini fridge, neon lights, and mirrored windows. She wondered briefly if Jakotsu wasn't gay if he would have rented one of the ones with a pole, but after a moment more of thought, she figured if any version of him was going to do something like that, it would be this one, and he would be the one using it. Covering her lips with her fingers to keep the giggle inside her mouth, she glanced away and looked out the window to get a grip on herself from that fucked up visual.

Jakotsu didn't wait until the driver was back in the car before he popped the cork on a bottle of champagne and poured two glasses.

When he cleared his throat, she turned back to him and took the one held to her. She held between her fingers as she looked at the guy that clearly didn't give a shit about the separation between their social classes. Social class wasn't something as prominent as it was even fifty years ago, but there were still massive differences between them. She made good money as a server, certainly enough to support herself if she chose to, but she didn't keep it, and she and her family lived on what was technically considered public land, though they did have a private residence. The problem was, though she made enough to support the family for the most part, it was still short of the monthly costs of upkeep for the shrine.

Shifting her position, she decided that, just for tonight, she wouldn't worry about her personal issues and turned towards him slightly, asking the burning question she had always wondered. "So, I don't think you've ever told me what you do for a living. The only one of your brothers I know is Mukotsu, and he's a chemist, and I only know that because he never shuts up about it."

Laughing at the truth of that, Jakotsu smiled at the onna. "Thought it was obvious. I'm an interior designer."

Completely unable to stop herself, the word was out before she realized she said it. "Cliche."

And, before her eyes, he turned into every last stereotype there was about a gay man; including the limp wrist. "Maybe, but Honey, do you even understand the horrific taste of straight people? Stripes and polka dots? Oh, Baby no."

Covering her nose and mouth to catch the very unlady like snarfing snort, and choked on her tongue. "Oh, Kami."

Chuckling, Jakotsu shook his head. "I mostly design the inside of offices, business reception spaces, and every once in awhile, I'll take on a client for a private residence, but that's pretty rare because good damn, are rich people fucking picky."

That was something she had some experience with at work. No one dared abuse the staff, no matter how much they had in the bank because Toga would have their head, but she could always tell the difference between someone who scrimped and saved for a night at Kamano and someone who wiped their ass with money by how they ordered their food. Giving him a nod of agreement, Kagome took a drink from the glass she had been given. "No arguments here."

After that, the rest of the twenty minute drive was mostly light and bullshit conversation. Every little bit closer they got, the more nervous Kagome grew. In her everyday life, she couldn't afford to even look in this club's general direction, much less go there for any reason, and she was a little worried about the perception of going. Every turn of the wheels had her questioning herself more and more if accepting the invitation was such a good idea, because while Jakotsu didn't care she didn't bathe in money, he was something of an oddity.

It had long since past the point of no return, and when the car she was in came to its final stop at the doors of Shikon, Kagome almost felt like she was going to throw up. She did her best to hide it, though, as she slid across the seat to climb out of the car, but she had a death grip on the present in her hands. So much so in fact, she almost couldn't release her grip when she was carded at the double doors.

She wasn't sure if it was a private party or not, but there were cameras everywhere, and many faces she recognized from one kind of media or another, beit TV or more of a social media setting. It was certainly intimidating, and once again, she found herself fighting to become invisible.

She got the answer to her question once they were inside and Jakotsu let her to set a stairs that led to up the second floor. Stopping for a stamp on their hands after giving her name to make sure she was on 'the list', Jakotsu told her that anything from the bar on the second floor was covered, but if she ordered a drink downstairs, she would have to pay for it.

It was actually pretty surprising to find out she knew quite a few people that were there, more by face than anything, because she had seen them at Kamano a time or two. Though she had been given more than a few looks that clearly asked what she was doing there, Kagome was mostly able to ignore them, especially when those looks changed to that of shock when two of the other Akasaki brothers gave an exuberant call of her name.

Kagome was able to do little more than curl her fingers in a wave to Renkotsu and Suikotsu before Jakotsu grabbed her wrist and let her through the throngs of bodies and toward the bar. Left with no choice but to hope no one saw her stumble at the sudden change of direction, she swallowed the whine from twisting her ankle, and forced herself to smile at the bartender when she was released. She knew Jakotsu was pretty much a 'right now' kind of guy, and if something had his attention, like a bar, nothing was going to stand in his way of it.

While waiting for their order, behind her, there was an amused voice she had never heard before, prompting both her and Jakotsu to turn to the owner. "You know, Jakotsu, you're not fooling anyone."

Barely able to keep her eyes from widening at the man she was looking at, Kagome clenched her teeth together to keep her jaw from hitting floor. He was fucking gorgeous, from his long, raven black braid to his piercing blue eyes. He was dressed in black dress pants that were created just for him by the Kami themselves, and a long sleeved black silk button up with the top three buttons undone and his sleeves rolled to his elbow.

Though she had discovered all the brothers had face tattoos, this one didn't have the same slashes on his cheeks, but instead had a four point purple star dead center of his forehead.

He had his arms crossed and a smirk on his lips that would turn any female into a puddle of goo... and he was looking right at her. "Who's your friend?"

A flat expression spread across Jakotsu's face as he looked at his brother. "This is Kagome." Slanting his eyes to the onna, he softened his voice a bit. "Kagome, this is Bankotsu... our dick of a baby brother."

Doing what she could with the dry mouth she had, Kagome cleared her throat, and gave him the best smile she was currently capable of. "Um... nice to finally meet you, Bankotsu." Awkwardly holding out the present in her hands, she cleared her throat. "And happy birthday."

Both she and Jakotsu watched as he gave Kagome a very deliberate once over before looking her dead in the eyes. "It is now." Taking the box she presented him with, he gave her that panty soaking smirk of his again. "Thanks."

It was with that he walked away, and Kagome followed him with her eyes. Swallowing hard, she licked her lips and turned her head to Jakotsu, but kept her eyes on Bankotsu. "So, you know how you asked me to come with you to make sure you keep your virtue intact?" Glancing up at him, she bit the corner of her lip. "I'm gonna ask you to return the favor."

Jakotsu didn't say a word to her, because he had no plans to do any such thing. He had spent the last four months trying to convince Bankotsu to go with him to Kamano, because he _knew_ from the moment he met the girl she would be perfect for his little brother. Since his brother wouldn't cooperate, he decided to bring Kagome to Bankotsu. For the last several weeks she proved to be just as difficult as Bankotsu, but at least she was able to be worn down with a little dedication.

And, if the look his baby brother was still giving the onna from across the room was anything to go by, Jakotsu knew he had been right, and if anything could be said about the youngest Akasaki brother, it was once he saw something he wanted, very little would stand in his way.


	3. Chapter 3

Kagome was having the time of her life. Once the fact people knew she wasn't an 'elite' stopped mattering, mostly because none of the Akasaki brothers allowed anyone to talk down to her so they actually got to know her, it was like actually belonged among them; at least to a certain point. When they did talk to her about her job, it wasn't with any kind of degradation, but more out of curiosity. The vast majority knew the Tanaka family that owned it, and took a lot pleasure in stories of Inuyasha getting a crash course on waiting tables. He was something of an acquired taste, and not many could stand to be around him long enough to acquire it; Kagome included. He was loud, annoying, and could be pretty damn mean for no reason, and everyone that knew him thought he was getting exactly what he deserved by having to work to pay his father back for the damage he caused to a business.

She didn't know the whole story, only that he was in a lot of legal trouble, but one of the people present did, and they let her in on the secret. Kikyou had been caught stealing from the place, and she told him they threatened to call the police on her if she didn't put back whatever it was she stuffed in her bag. Somehow or other, she convinced him to make them pay for embarrassing her in front of other people when they called her out, and he thought the best way to do it was for him and a couple of his friends to break in and destroy thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, as well as damage the property itself. Toga paid tens of thousands of dollars of restitution to the owners in lieu of Inuyasha being sent to jail for it. That she knew, but she didn't know he did it because of Kikyou.

She knew the bitch was bad news.

The story behind Inuyasha's forced employment also explained the reason Toga was so cold toward Kikyou when she came into the restaurant. He wasn't outright mean, that wasn't him, but he certainly wasn't what Kagome would call welcoming or even very accommodating. Tolerant would be about as far as she would take it, but even that was a stretch. Though, it certainly explained the 'married over my dead body' and disinheritance comments she had heard once or twice when she was close to the office and Inuyasha and Toga were going at it over the woman.

It was while she was at the bar, alone, for a refill she was finally confronted by the birthday boy. He still hadn't opened the present she gave him, just held it under his arm as he talk to and shared drinks with the other guests. When he joined her at the bar, he set it down, and leaned on one elbow, holding his wrist with the other hand.

Nodding when he was asked if he wanted another shot, he kept his eyes on Kagome, who finally gave him her attention when the bartender dropped off her drink. Even though he knew the answer, he still asked for clarification sake. "So, how do you know my brothers so well?"

The amount of alcohol she'd had loosened her lips, and she answered the question with more information than she was asked for. "I don't really know them all well. I work at Kamano. Jakotsu comes in twice a week, and I always wait on him, so I know him better than I know the others, but I've met them all a couple of times each." Her eyes widened and her lips parted. "Oh, and before I forget; Sesshoumaru said to tell you he said hello."

Bankotsu snorted and rolled his eyes. "Well, that jackass was supposed to be here, so the next time you see him, tell him I said to stuff his hello."

Nose wrinkling, Kagome slowly shook her head. "Um... yeah, I'm not gonna do that, no. He's my boss, and I need my job, so..." trailing off, she thought it best to change the subject before she made an agreement that would probably get her killed. She and Sesshoumaru got on alright, but he still didn't tolerate anyone being disrespectful. Turning her attention to the unopened present on the bar behind Bankotsu's elbow, she pointed at it. "Aren't you going to open it?"

Also glancing at the unexpected present, Bankotsu hummed in his throat before shifting his position and picking it up. As he tore the perfectly folded paper, he flicked his eyes to Kagome's, an amused smile on his face. "I can't actually remember the last time someone got me an actual present for my birthday. Since I came of age, normally, it's just throwing down on a bartab."

Upon hearing that, Kagome was even more nervous about his reaction to what she picked out for him. When he got past the wrapping, she bit her lip hard as he examined the shadow boxed dagger, and the longer the silence stretched, the more her stomach began to revolt against the alcohol.

It wasn't distaste that kept Bankotsu silent; it was shock. Not only was the onna the only one to present him with an actual present for his birthday, but it was something he actually _liked_. The dagger was a replica of a very old, very famous weapon, but that wasn't what shocked him stupid for a moment. It was the fact it was the centerpiece of one of his favorite fables about a mercenary from the Feudal Era.

Holding the display case in his hands as if it was made of glass, he flicked his eyes to a, clearly, worried Kagome. Once he saw she mistook his silence for something else, he smiled at her. "This... is magnificent. Do you know the story behind it?"

Kagome could have fallen to the floor she was so relieved he liked it. Feeling emboldened when she realized that, she shook her head, leaning heavier on the bar because her knees were seriously shaking. "I don't, no. When I bought it, I was told it belonged to a human in the Warring Era, but the legends and fables my family's shrine teach are more about demons and hanyou than they are of humans."

It was pretty instantly he knew which shrine she was talking about, but he still asked to make sure. "Sunset?" At Kagome's nod, he looked at the wooden case in his hands. "This is a massively scaled down model of a sword called Banryu. I'll give you a guess as to what the mercenary's name was it belonged to." When he saw Kagome shrug, he smirked. "Bankotsu."

Without warning, Kagome snorted at that. "I can see why you like the story so much."

Chuckling in his throat, Bankotsu set the case between them on the bar and mirrored her position. "Legend says this guy was one of the most merciless humans to ever live. He killed more out of pleasure than he did for payment, though he certainly wasn't hurting for money like so many other humans in that time. His halberd, Banryu, gained immeasurable power from the people he killed with it, which is ultimately what caused his demise. It housed the souls of nine hundred and ninety-nine humans, but one thousand demons. This should be up your alley. Why would that matter?"

He was right, she knew that answer. "Because humans weren't meant to control the power of a demon."

Grinning at her, he nodded as he tapped his finger on the glass. "You see, he didn't listen to the warning he was given when he took up mastership of the Banryu, to make sure there is never more demonic influence over the blade than human, because they were meant to balance the power within the sward. Had he been a demon, he would have been told the opposite. When he killed his one thousandth demon before he killed his one thousandth human, he couldn't control the power surge that came with that demon's soul. The sword, according to legend, was blood thirsty on its own, and his body was literally ripped apart by his steel's desire to reach it's ultimate power by, basically, stealing Bankotsu's soul for itself."

Chuckling again, he made a face as he finished the fable. "In an ironic twist of fate, because let's be honest all good stories have one, once Bankotsu died, no one else, human, demon, or hanyou, had the ability to wield the massive sword. Over the years he had the blade, Bankotsu had grown in strength because the sword itself was twice this human's size, and grew heavier with each soul it housed. So, now, we have the strongest, most lethal weapon ever conceived, that's too fucking heavy for anyone to pick up. It laid on the ground where it killed its master until it rusted away to nothing without ever showing the world what it was capable of."

Though it was one of amusement, a frown pulled at the corners of Kagome's lips as she tittered. "I never thought I would actually feel bad for a sword."

Chuckling along with her, he lacked his fingers together and smiled at her. "The lesson this fable teaches is one of common sense."

Smirking at him, Kagome snarked. "Are you going to tell me I feel bad for the wrong character in the story?"

Returning her expression, he ran the tip of his tongue along the back of his teeth. "The fact you feel anything for an inanimate object speaks for itself." Laughing outright and neatly dodging the hand aimed for his arm, he shook his head. "Honestly, you're not supposed to feel bad for either one. They're both murderous bastards and they both did as they wanted while disregarding common sense. In Bankotsu's case, he didn't listen to someone wiser than he was, and paid for that with his life. In Banryu's case, it killed its master and was never able to show the world it's true potential. It's supposed to teach you to think before you act, which should be common sense... even for a halberd."

Finishing her drink, Kagome licked the remnants from her lips before returning her eyes to Bankotsu's. "Most of the common sense fables I know revolve around an inu-hanyou and a brown wolf demon prince."

Knowing a couple of them himself, Bankotsu snorted and rolled his eyes. "While I'm sure you know more than I do, the ones I do know teach more than just common sense." Holding up two fingers to the bartender, he cocked his head to the side. "For my own curiosity, how did you merit an invitation to the ball tonight?"

Though she scoffed at the way that was phrased, she did look around like she was looking to see if anyone was listening to them, before then taking a half step closer to Bankotsu, and lowering her voice. "Jakotsu wants me to help keep his virtue intact." Tilting her head to the side in an over exaggerated way, she giggled. "Basically stop him from doing that."

Shifting his eyes to where she clearly wanted him to look, and as covertly as he could, he snorted hard when he saw his older brother getting pretty handsy with a bar rat. Picking up one of the two shot glasses that were delivered, he held it out to Kagome, picking up his own when she took it. "Preserving virtue is certainly not one of Jakotsu's strong suits."

Tapping her glass to his, Kagome knocked back the sake, swallowing hard because it had never been one of her favorites, making a face showing how little she actually liked it. Scraping her tongue across her teeth to remove the flavor, she grunted. "Even still, a promise is a promise." Though she was polite in excusing herself, she didn't make it two steps from the bar before she felt an arm wrap around her waist. Glancing down at it, she looked over her shoulder, finding herself caught in smoldering blue eyes.

With his eyes locked on Kagome's Bankotsu shifted, sliding his chest across her body, moving to stand in front of her and blocking her escape. Setting both his hands on her hips, he slowly pushed her back, tightening his hold on her waist to hoist her up and onto a bar stool. He did let her go, but trapped her in place by placing his hands to either side of her on the bar and, bending slightly at his waist, never broke their eye contact. "I think it's about time Jakotsu learned how to face the consequences of his bad decisions while you... "

Watching a dark blush spread along her nose and cheeks, Bankotsu chuckled a deep, deliberate sound as he leaned closer to her. His lips grazing her flesh at the back of her jaw, causing her breath to audibly catch in her throat, and he spoke low in her ear. "Stay right here with me."

He was so close, she could smell the sake of his last shot on his breath as it caressed her skin. She had nowhere to go, and it was a position she wasn't used to being in. She had never been 'that girl'. She never had a man look at her like Bankotsu was looking at her in that moment. Sure, she had boyfriends in the past, but even they didn't look at her with such heat. His gaze was so hot, it actually felt like her blood was on fire, and she found her mouth sticky and throat dry. Her voice was little more than a silent croke when she was finally able to push it out. "Kami."

When Bankotsu pulled back, and she found herself once again drowning in his eyes, she almost felt like a teenager around her first crush. She giggled like it too. "Okay, but only if I don't have to drink any more sake."


	4. Chapter 4

While it was an easy agreement for Bankotsu to make, it was a little harder to put the no sake thing into practice for the first half hour to follow the statement. Though, were he honest, it could have been an issue solved immediately if he had been successful in talking her into going down to the bar on the first floor. However, since the one in the lounge had ran out of her drink of choice, and wouldn't be restocked until eleven o'clock, it was child's play to send one of his brothers down to get her what she wanted.

He wasn't blind, he could clearly tell she didn't like sake, and nothing he found too shocking. Though he didn't ask her how old she was, having been raised to know better than that, he could tell she was at least two, if not three years younger than he was, and it had only been in recent months he himself could stand the taste of the rice based alcohol. As far as her age went, the only thing that mattered was she had been allowed in the bar, which meant she was legal, and that was as far as his care went.

There was also a level of irritation with himself once he put two and two together. Finding out where she worked, paired with her arrival with Jakotsu, gave him the impression she was the actual reason his brother had been so fucking pushy about his joining him for dinner, and there was something of a mental berating for not accepting. While at first he had declined because he was actually busy, the more recent attempts on Jakotsu's part were turned down because the man never did anything without some kind of fanfare. If he was going to eat at the place owned by his best friend's father, it wasn't going to be made a spectacle of, and Jakotsu was a spectacle all on his own. It was bad enough Renkotsu showed his ass the way he did, and had Bankotsu agreed, all of his brothers would have shown up, and that never tends to end well.

Peppered throughout the second floor lounge, the six other Akasaki brothers watched as their baby brother who, for the first time any of them could recall since he graduated high school, seemed to give his full attention to who he was talking to. Their parents had died when Bankotsu was in grade 9, and graduation was the magic day he got his inheritance. While each of the brothers used what they were left for different things, what Bankotsu chose to do with his kept him very busy, and he was usually always on his phone, no matter who he was talking to. Only once had any of them seen him pull it out of his pocket, and all he did was silence the device before putting it away, telling Kagome it wasn't important when she asked if he had to take it.

The pair had moved away from the bar when Kyokotsu gave her the vodka cranberry, waving her off when she asked what she owed him, and moved to the railing overlooking the dance floor below. Bankotsu was turned to face her, his weight on his elbow and his ankles crossed while Kagome, too short to mimic his position, was leaned back against it, though unless she was looking down with a blush across her nose, had her head turned up to look at him. No one was close enough to actually overhear the conversation, but the way either one reacted to the words of the other was entertaining enough on its own.

"Okay, so wait... you own this place and still charge your brothers to drink here?"

Laughing out right, Bankotsu shook his head. "First of all, I don't own it and I didn't say I did. Second, you're damn straight I would charge those fuckheads to drink here. Do you have any idea how expensive it is to get those six morons drunk? They would bankrupt this place in a weekend. You've waited on them what? Three at a time at most? So I'm sure you've seen their tabs at the end of a meal. Imagine how much more it is when it's just alcohol. And that's if Sesshoumaru even charges them for everything."

Giggling into her glass, Kagome took a drink, and smiled after she swallowed it. "Oh, he does. Not once since I've been waiting on them has he comped anything off their check. I don't even think he gave Jakotsu a free desert for his birthday last month."

Bankotsu snorted hard. "That would be because his birthday wasn't last month, and Sesshoumaru knew that."

Turning to look at Jakotsu with narrowed eyes, she huffed. "Asshole." Looking back at Bankotsu, she clicked her tongue. "He told me it was when he made his normal request for me to go out with him he makes every time he comes in. Said it was his birthday so I couldn't tell him no. I would have gone out that time if I didn't already have something to do I couldn't get out of." Tapping her finger on her glass, she cocked her head. "Okay, so what part do you play in this place then?"

Taking a gulp of his own drink, he licked the liquid from his upper lip and explained how he got involved in the bar. "Currently, technically I'm a silent partner. On paper, I do own more of the place than the actual owners for time being, and it's up to them how long that lasts. Two years ago, this was a completely different kind of place, and was struggling to keep its doors open. They needed an investor, but I wanted no part in a strip club. If they wanted my money, they had to play by my rules. A few hundred grand up front for a remodel and new branding, plus six months for the word to spread, here we are two years later. The actual owners have five years total to pay me back in full, plus eighteen percent on the loan and thirty percent of monthly sales for the life of the loan, before they have to hand over the keys. So, either they hand me a huge fucking check in the next three years, or I do become the owner." Nose wrinkling, he grunted. "Kinda hope they succeed, because Kami knows I am too fucking busy to run a bar as well." Then he shrugged. "Either way, time for it or not, if they don't pay me back on time, I will take them to court and sue the shit out of them for breach of contract and end up owning this place anyway."

Nodding slowly, Kagome made a noise in the back of her throat. "So, you're an investor, then?"

Bankotsu just grinned. "Why work when someone else can do it for you? As for this place, the owners could have paid off the loan six months ago, but they chose not to for whatever reason. My guess is, paid back or not, per our contractual agreement, they still owe me five years of monthly sales. So, if they have to cough that up every month regardless of my actual investment in the place for the next three years, may as well save up for that big fat fucking check. Besides, it's almost ten grand in my pocket a month, and I don't have to do shit for it. So long as my money is on the line, I get to drink as much as I want on the house. I don't need what's tied up in the place, and the perks of remaining a partner are outweighed by what I get in return. If they want to take the entire life of the loan to pay me back, I'm absolutely not going to bitch about it."

While the sheer amount of money being talked about like it was nothing was mind boggling to Kagome, his stance certainly made sense to her. There was also a high level of curiosity when it came to exactly how much of his money he didn't care he didn't have access to, she didn't ask what it was. It wasn't her business for one. And for another thing, she was pretty sure it would make her sick to her stomach. It was just one of those many things that showed the separation between where she stood and he did, and honestly, she had to fight not to let it affect her mood. She had been surprised to find how much she liked him, and that blatantly obvious gap between them was almost mocking when it also told her how little of a chance she actually had.

Bankotsu, however, wasn't the normal guy that missed subtle changes. As a matter of fact, he tended to see the subtle things before the big things, so he didn't miss the slight dimming of Kagome's eyes or the fact she wouldn't quite look him in his anymore. He had a decent idea what the issue was, but he wasn't going to call her on it, mostly because he also wasn't a fan of it. So, finishing his drink, he pushed himself away from the railing, set his empty glass on the nearby table, and positioned himself to stand in front of her instead of where he had been.

One hand on the rail, he set his other against the side of Kagome's neck, using his thumb under her chin, pushed her head back to all but force her to return to looking him in the eye. Playing with his tongue behind his teeth, he then clicked his once before speaking. "I don't know what just popped into that head of yours, and quite honestly, I don't care. This is a birthday party though, and the decree of the birthday boy, who unlike his brother isn't lying about it being his birthday, says the pretty girl in his presence isn't allowed to be upset. Consider it a present."

She tried not to, harder than she cared to admit, not to smile, but couldn't quite keep it off her face. "I already gave you a present." She watched as that same smirk he gave her when she first arrived formed on his features, and she was not hard pressed not to gulp.

Bankotsu dipped his head, stopping just before the tips of their noises touched. His voice lowered, and to Kagome, sounded a little deeper too. "Yeah, but see, I admit to being a greedy fuck."

That time she did gulp... loudly.

Whether he meant it the way it came out or it was just a poor choice of words, she didn't know. She didn't know him well enough to know that, but it didn't really matter either. They still sent a shock wave down her spine and made her stomach clinch. She felt trapped, though not in a bad way. Sure, she had nowhere to go really with the position he had put them in, but that wasn't really the problem. It was his eyes. They were like the ocean at midnight; dark but crashing. They weren't just one color of dark blue, they were several, and the different shades twisted around, dancing in a near hypnotizing manner; pulling her in and dragging her down beneath the rolling waves he called eyes.

It was with a transfixed stare, and a slightly shaky voice, she chuckled out. "I see. Um... good to know I guess." Then she decided to play with him a little as she shoved his hand away from her face. "I mean, I've never met a lord before, making decrees for us little pissants to follow."

Glancing away for a moment, Bankotsu then cocked his head as he set his hand on the railing. "Well, technically, there is a -Sama attached to the family name. Unless someone pisses me off, though, I rarely demand its use."

 _Jesus..._ Could he stop with that? Like, at what point would it be necessary for her to know this?

The look on Kagome's face alone was worth the surprisingly hard smack to his chest. Turning his head to the side, he once again spoke in her ear, his voice dripping with something she couldn't name. "Don't forget, a Lord needs his Lady." Then, he pressed a kiss to her cheek before pulling back and straightening his spine. "I gotta piss."

Rolling her eyes to the ceiling, Kagame once again bestowed upon him a glare as she waved her fingers at him. "Then go. I'm not going to hold it for you."

Smiling wide enough to show teeth, he leaned into her again, his smoldering eyes locking on hers. "Pity."

Kagome was left to pinch the bridge of her nose as he turned and walked toward the steps, shaking her head with a sigh and closed as she heard Jakotsu's amused voice ask her how her night was going once his brother left her alone. Arms crossed, she propped her chin on her palm, tapping her fingertips against her upper lip as she looked at the one she was going to be blaming for whatever she got herself into.

After a moment, she swung her hand out, a half grin forming on her lips as she giggled. "He's..."

When Kagome trailed off, Jakotsu laughed out loud. "Isn't he, just. I did introduce him as a dick though, so you can't say you weren't warned."

She couldn't argue that point, that was exactly how he introduced the man. Still, she gave him a look covered in attitude, though it held no heat. "Even still. And... I wouldn't say he's a dick. He's... I don't know; different, I guess. I'm not exactly used to... all of this."

Crossing his own arms, Jakotsu pursed his lips. "All of what? At this point, I find it hard to believe the venue is still something to get used to."

Kagome was quick to shake her head. "No, that's not what I meant. I'm not use to... shit, I do I put it?"

Even without her knowing, Jakotsu got the jist. "Being the center of someone's attention?"

Snapping her fingers, Kagome pointed at him. "Exactly! I'm not that girl, especially with a guy like him."

Jakotsu's confusion was clear. "A guy like what? Ya know, he is my brother, so I do know him pretty well, and he's nothing like he's portrayed to be. Yeah, he can be an asshole, but he's also a businessman, and being an asshole comes with the territory. You say you're not the girl that catches the attention of a guy like him?" Leaning down, he lowered his voice. "I say, you've never met a guy like him, so you can't actually say that."

Head snapping around, Kagome looked at Jakotsu with slightly wide eyes. "I didn't mean any..."

Jakotsu waved off the unnecessary apology. "I know." Standing back up, he smiled down at her. "Money doesn't make the person, Kagome. A person makes the money. I knew the moment you found out, it was written all over your face. Don't focus on it, because I'm here to tell you, he would give it all away in heartbeat for the right reason."

Lip curling in the corner, Kagome recrossed her arms, her hip jetting out. "Are you trying to get your brother laid, or something?"

With a bark of laughter, Jakotsu actually bent in half backwards, looking at her with a wide grin. "Trust me, Onna, that is not an area Bankotsu needs any help with."

Lips pulling from her teeth, Kagome's eyes narrowed before she jolted, taking off after Jakotsu and grabbing his arm when she caught up with him. Looking up at him with a look of accusation, she scoffed. "Is that why you invited me here?"

It was exactly why he invited her, but he sure as fuck wasn't going to tell her that. Instead, he grinned and shook his head. "Of course not. I invited you because I happen to like you, and I don't care for most of the other people here. I had a feeling you two would hit it off, but ultimately, there was no way to know that for sure, was there?" His brow rose in challenge, and when she looked away, he crossed his arms. "You read far too much into things, Kagome. Seriously, you do. Stop thinking so damn much, and just have some fun for once. If Bankotsu does happen to cross a line you don't want to, let any of the rest of us know, and we'll put a stop to it. Otherwise, just enjoy yourself and let tonight be tonight, alright?"

While she watched after him as he walked away, for the second time, she found herself call out after him. "This is exactly why I always tell you no, Asshole."

And, just like the last time she said it, Jakotsu again just laughed as he lifted an arm and gave her a wave as he approached the same guy she had seen him with earlier in the night, leaving her to shake her head.

This was how she was found by Sesshoumaru when he showed up, and nearly scared the literal shit out her. When he tapped her on the shoulder, she actually let out a shriek, and whirled around, both her hands over her mouth, and her eyes darting every which direction, before looking up at the slightly wide eyes of her boss. Tripping over her tongue, she shook her head in fast movements. "I... I'm... I am so sorry, Sesshoumaru-Sama."

There was a slight smirk on the man's face as he crossed his arms. "I think, given the circumstances, we can forgo the honorific; don't you?"

Blinking, Kagome, made a weird noise as she lowered her hands. "I'm sorry?"

Rolling his eyes slightly, Sesshoumaru leveled her with a somewhat flat look. "We're not at the restaurant, so I'm not your boss at the moment, am I?" When Kagome shook her head, he grinned. "Then, for the time being, I think we can forgo the honorific, and I'll even buy you a drink to prove it."

Kagome, no less confused, brew her brows down. "But it's an open bar."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Yes, up here. There is a far larger, and better, selection downstairs."

Not positive she was in a position to decline the offer, after a moment, Kagome shrugged and agreed. "Okay, sure."

She hadn't been back down to the first floor since she arrived, and Sesshoumaru wasn't kidding when he said the bar on that floor was far better stocked the one she had been ordering from all night. She never knew there were so many different bands of each kind of liquor, or that they came in so many different flavors.

When she was asked what she wanted, she looked at the vast number of bottle, but ended up just shaking her head, and yelling over the much louder music. "I don't know. I've been drinking vodka and cranberry juice all night, so I guess one of those."

Looking down at her, Sesshoumaru shook his head and held up a finger to her as he turned to the bartender. "A tall strawberry vodka and Sprite." Handing over his credit card, he turned back to Kagome. "Changing liquor at this point would probably make you ill, but my girlfriend swears by this."

A small grin pulled at the corner of Kagome's lips. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

Nodding slowly, he pushed the glass that was set in front of him over to Kagome. "Two years next month. Unlike Inuyasha, I don't parade my personal business around for all to see, and Rin isn't an attention whore like that thing my brother is convinced is a good idea."

Wrapping both her hands around the glass she was given, Kagome tilted her head to the side, nothing but curiosity in her eyes. "Can I ask you something? About Inuyasha?" Though it looked grudgen, she was given a nod, and she chose her words as carefully as she could. "Is it true he's in all the trouble he's in because of her?"

Eyes narrowed and slanted to the balcony, Sesshoumaru grunted, but nodded. "It is, and I trust you'll keep that to yourself." When Kagome nodded quickly, he sighed. "Inuyasha doesn't make the best choices on a good day, but when he's confronted with the prospect of losing that... woman, and I use that word very loosely, his capacity to think completely vanishes. I don't know if she has the golden snatch or what, but he's about as pussy whipped as any man has ever been."

While Kagome had very much enjoyed the taste of the drink Sesshoumaru bought her, it wasn't nearly as nice when it came out her nose.

Covering her nose with both hands, Kagome's eyes were squeezed shut as she fought back the tears from the hellacious burn. Feeling cloth against her skin, without looking, she took the offering and held it to her face as her nose dripped, slanting her eyes open and looking at the amused face of Sesshoumaru.

He chuckled in his throat, but had another stack of napkins at the ready. "Are you alright?"

Though she wasn't really, Kagome nodded just the same. "I'm good; just burns." Blowing her nose, she shook her head and cleared her throat. "I don't think I've ever heard you talk like that before."

He just grinned as he lifted a shoulder. "You've also never seen me outside work before."

She couldn't discount that; it was true enough. But, she wasn't able to say anything else before a voice sounded behind them. "Moving in on my girl, Sesshoumaru?"

Both Kagome and Sesshoumaru turned to look at the bemused face of Bankotsu, the former closing her eyes while the former stood from his stool with a much wider grin on his lips. "Of course I am." Holding out a hand, "You're the fool that left her alone."

Grabbing Sesshoumaru's hand, Bankotsu grinned back as he squeezed his fingers. "I'll fight you for her, and I fight dirty."

With a 'hn', Sesshoumaru took his hand back when Bankotsu released it and retook his seat as bankotsu took up a place on the other side of Kagome, leaning against the bar with his arm draped over the back of her stool. "I trust she gave you my message."

Piping up, kagome nodded. "I did. He said noted."

Bankotsu snorted hard. "No I didn't." Looking Sesshoumaru dead in the eyes, he smirked. "I told her to tell you, you could stuff your hello because you were already supposed to be here."

Signaling the bartender, Sesshoumaru clicked his tongue. "I would have been if Inuyasha wasn't completely incompetent and in need of a babysitter on Kamano's busiest night of the week while also being short our best waitress." Pointing a finger at Bankotsu, he then passed on a message from his father. "Who Father says you are never allowed to take from us on a Saturday night again."

While a blush was creeping across Kagome's nose at the very clear compliment, Bankotsu just laughed. "We'll see, won't we?"

Scratching the back of her neck, Kagome leaned slightly closer to Sesshoumaru. "I wasn't going to relay that, by the way."

Hearing her perfectly, Bankotsu rolled his eyes. "She's scared if she would have, you would have fired her for it."

Slanting his eyes to the onna who was looking anywhere but him, Sesshoumaru just leaned back in his stool. "She'll learn." Then he waved his hand at Bankotsu, telling him without words to order what he wanted when the bartender finally came over.

Doing just that, he ordered three cherry bombs, and a 'whatever she's having'.

There wasn't a whole lot more after that Kagome was going to remember in the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey!**

 **So, I know it's been a minute, but I have some news.**

 **November 1st, there will be a DRASTIC decline in updates. I am a published author, and November is NaNo time, meaning updates will be completely and totally non-existent as I bust out a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. As I gear up for this month of Hell, updates will unfortunately be taking a back seat, and will be put up when I can. I also have someone coming in from out of state for a visit in less than two weeks, so October will be hit and miss as far as when I will have the time to write. That's not to say it'll be two months before I update again, but it IS saying new chapters will not be going up as fast as they were.**

 **Other than that, enjoy!**

 ***X***

Leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, Tylenol in one hand and a glass of water in the other, Bankotsu grinned as he watched Kagome try her best to wake up. Glancing at his watch, he honestly didn't think he would hear a peep from her before noon, but the first moan slipped from her shortly after ten.

He did feel bad for her, but that didn't stop him from teasing her. "So, it was my birthday, yet somehow, you were the one throwing up and passing out."

Kagome let out another soft groan as she slowly pulled the blanket she was under off her head, squinting at the distorted version of Bankotsu. She tried to remember what happened the night before, but the last thing she could clearly recall was getting scared by Sesshoumaru, and shots. An uncountable number of shots.

When she came up blank on leaving the bar, she grunted against the throbbing of her temples. "I don't drink that often... and never like that when I do."

A look of pure sympathy entered Bankotsu's eyes as he pushed himself off the wooden frame and made his way to the bedside, taking a seat and setting his offerings down on the bedside table. "Things did get a little out of hand after Sesshoumaru arrived, I'll admit. Also, it wasn't completely your fault. The driver even made me a little nauseous with the way he took some of those turns, and I haven't gotten sick over a night of drinking since I was twenty-two."

Kagome let him help her sit up, taking the pills he put in her hand and following his advice of drinking the water slowly if she didn't want to get sick again. Though her stomach did revolt against her, she was able to fight it back and keep the meager amount of water down.

Looking around the room, she couldn't for her life remember seeing it before, and there was a high level of embarrassment on her part when she looked at Bankotsu. "Where am I?" Then, when she looked down and away from his eyes, she blinked. "And where's my dress?"

Leaning back on his hands, Bankotsu chuckled quietly. "Jakotsu's." When he saw her blink at the unexpected answer, he explained what he and his brother agreed to. "He decided he was going home with that guy from the bar, who apparently lives close to me. We traded keys since this was where your car was, and it being my turn to host our Sunday dinner, he'll just go to my place, and I'll drive his car over there so he can get home tonight. You got sick on the way here, so when we got here, I gave you one of Jakotsu's shirts to sleep in, put your drunk ass to bed, and saved your dress from a horrible death in the kitchen sink. I took it to the dry cleaners an hour ago. Ticket is on the counter next to your purse, and you should be able to pick it up on your way home later."

Under no circumstances was she going to admit she didn't remember any of that. However, there was a distinct whine in her throat as she lowered her head into her hands, and slid her fingers into her hair. "Please tell me I didn't make an ass out of myself in front of my boss."

Grinning at the position of clear defeat, Bankotsu just shook his head. "No, all the bad shit happened after we left the club."

Nodding slowly, Kagome didn't move as she asked her next question. "What time is it?"

Glancing down at his watch, Bankotsu clicked his tongue. "Quarter to eleven."

Head shooting up, an action Kagome regretted immediately, she cringed. "I'm supposed to be at work."

Bankotsu just tilted his head. "You're fine. Before we parted ways with him last night, Sesshoumaru gave you the day off, and said if you're still alive, he'll see you Monday." The look on her face finally pulled an actual laugh from Bankotsu as he stood up. "It was his fucking fault you were as drunk as you were. I don't know what the hell got into him last night, but it was the least he could do after feeding you shots like he did."

Rubbing a finger between her eyes, Kagome shrugged. "Maybe he teamed up with Jakotsu in an attempt to get you laid, I don't know. I do know I'm never drinking with him again, though."

Not necessarily surprised, but slightly caught off guard, crossing his arms, Bankotsu cocked a brow. "I beg your pardon." Rolling his eyes when Kagome said nothing, he snorted and shook his head. "I slept on the couch last night because I don't sleep with girls that are as drunk as you were. That's just asking for trouble I don't want to deal with. Had we left earlier in the night, this would probably be a different conversation, but as reality stands, you could barely walk when we left."

Kagome's face pinched. "I thought you said I didn't make an ass out of myself."

Bankotsu's grin returned. "You didn't. There's nothing wrong with a woman getting drunk at a bar, especially when they took that many shots. There is also nothing wrong with getting sick. Happens to the best of us. If you want to know what it means to make an ass out of yourself, here's a story for you. There was another woman there last night that had too much to drink and was also cut off. She turned into a belligerent bitch, and was escorted out of the club because yelling at the bartenders for doing their job isn't tolerated. With you, when Doshi said no more alcohol, you just giggled and asked him to make you something pretty. You drank fruit juice for the last hour we were there, but the damage had long since been done." Then he snickered. "You're an adorably happy drunk, by the way."

Slowly shaking her head, Kagome searched every corner of her memory for what he was talking about, but when she came up empty, she gave a lost look to Bankotsu. "I don't remember any of that."

"I would be far more surprised if you said you did." He then held out a hand to her. "Come on."

Looking at the out held appendage, Kagome flicked her eyes back up to Bankotsu's face. "Come on? Come on where?"

Reaching for her hand, he gently coached Kagome to her feet. "To the living room." Settling his hands on her hips to steady her on her feet, he smiled down at her. "I'm going to make you some breakfast and we're going watch a movie while you finish sobering up. You can even pick what it is."

Leaning her swimming head against Bankotsu's chest, she grunted. "How are you functional? You were doing shots, too."

He just looked down at the top of her head, keeping his voice down since he was also talking so close to her ears, and she had a massive hangover. "I turned twenty-seven yesterday. Unlike your twenty-three year old ass, I learned my drinking lessons. That's not to say I don't overindulge and wake up with a hangover every once in awhile, it's just not common practice anymore. If memory serves, I was just about your age the last time I let someone calling me a chicken shit dictate how much I had to drink." Then he made a face. "As a matter of fact, also if memory serves, it was Sesshoumaru that did it to me."

Pulling her head back slightly, Kagome looked straight ahead. "He really isn't anything like I thought he was."

Bankotsu just snorted as he slowly scooped his girl into his arms, letting her get situated before turning and leaving the bedroom and heading for the living room. "He a guy, and like all of us, wears one of three different masks depending on who we're with. There's the professional one, the one when we're with our guy friends," lowering his voice, he pressed his forehead against hers, "and the one when we're with our girl." Pulling back with a wink, he gently deposited Kagome on the couch, picked the remote up off the table, and handed it over before heading for the kitchen, leaving a flaming faced Kagome in the living room.

Playing with the remote she was handed, Kagome settled herself into a corner between the back of the couch and the arm, pulling her knees up, and wrapping her arms around them. One of the last clear memories she had of the night before was Bankotsu coming back from the bathroom and accusing Sesshoumaru of moving in on 'his girl'. She hadn't said anything about it at the time, figuring it had to do with how much he himself had to drink, and she had seen plenty of guys do the same thing with their buddies. So, it wasn't so much she hadn't said anything, it was more she just didn't think it meant anything because, if she knew Sesshoumaru had a girlfriend, certainly Bankotsu did.

Tapping the remote against her palm, she looked across the room and into the open kitchen, watching as Bankotsu went about pulling what looked like random shit from the fridge. She didn't want to ask, but at the same time, she couldn't stop herself. "So... we didn't do anything last night, right?"

Setting down what he pulled out, he grinned at her as he set his hands on the counter. "Now, when did I ever say that? All I said was we didn't sleep together because you were trashed at the end of the night." The smirk that had yet to fail in setting her blood on fire formed on his lips as he opened the egg carton. "There were still several hours before you reached the point of 'even if it was the only thing that would somehow save your life, my dick would still have stayed to itself' drunk."

Kagome had absolutely no idea what the look that settled on Bankotsu's face meant, but she was sure whatever it was would lead to something she wasn't going to like... and she was right, though he kept his thoughts to himself.

Banktosu knew a thing or two more than someone who had never experienced a blackout drunk before, and as he went about making her a high protein, high carb, and extremely greasy breakfast to aid in soaking up the last of the alcohol in her system, he found himself biting back more than a handful of chuckles. He refused to audibly laugh at her expense, but it was only a matter of time before flashes of the night before began to surface, and he knew for point certain when she finally reached that point of sobering up, it was going to be hysterical.

And he knew the moment it happened, too.

It took a couple of hours, but you cannot fake, and you cannot hide, that particular look of horror. He was sitting on his brother's couch, his ankle on his knee, his arms over the back, and Kagome was coming out of the bathroom. The wide eyes, the lips that didn't quite meet, and the pulsing way eye contact was avoided at all cost was all he needed. Looking at her, there was a half grin on his own lips as he waited her out. There was always something, some held onto hope that first memory wasn't true, but it always was. That didn't stop the inevitable question, and she didn't disappoint.

Her voice shook, and Kagome had the most pathetic look of pleading on her face he had ever seen. "I didn't really grind on my boss, who has a girlfriend, did I?"

Trying, and only slightly failing, to swallow the snort, Bankotsu shrugged slightly. "He didn't seem to mind, so I wouldn't worry about it."

Face dropping into her palms, Kagome whined like a hurt puppy. "Why did you let me drink so much?"

Looking affronted, Bankotsu scoffed. "I'm not your fucking keeper. Besides, it was funny as fuck. Not you; you were hot, but Sesshoumaru has absolutely no rhythm, at all, and I about pissed myself watching him try and keep up with someone who does. How you were able to twirl around like you did and not either fall or snap your ankle in those boots of yours is nothing short of a miracle, honestly."

That didn't do anything to make her feel better. Whining louder, Kagome scrubbed her face before looking at Bankotsu with the most adorable look he had ever seen before. "I'm going to have to quit my job and probably move to a different country under a new name."

Finally laughing out loud, Bankotsu shook his head as he stood up and made his way over to the mortified female. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her into his chest and looked down as her when she hid her face in his shirt. "It's not that bad."

Speaking into the silk material, Kagome whimpered. "You said I didn't make an ass out of myself... twice. Pretty sure dancing like that with my boss is _firmly_ in that category."

Trying, and failing, to coach her out of his chest, he snorted and rolled his eyes. "Were you at work?" Though there was a moment before it happened, when Kagome shook her head, he grinned at her hair. "Then it's not that bad." Unwrapping her from his arms, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back so he could see her face. "We were all drunk, Kagome; not just you."

When she cut her eyes away from his, he sighed before letting go of her shoulder and cupping her face with both hands so she had to look at him. Lowering his voice, it was back to the soothing tenor of when she first woke up, but there was far more force in it than there was a moment ago. "If anything was going to turn into a problem, it would have been stopped. No one was going to let you do something stupid."

Just shy of the point of tears, Kagome tried to shake her head, but really couldn't with Bankotsu's hands holding her face. "He has a girlfriend."

And Bankotsu wasn't having any of it. "Who when drunk dances with me the way you were dancing with him. Look, Sesshoumaru and I have been friends since we were five, and neither of us were going to let you get yourself in trouble. I'm as protective of Rin when we go out as he was of you last night. Okay, so maybe we didn't pay as close of attention as we should have to how much you were drinking, but that doesn't mean we weren't paying attention to what you were doing. More importantly though, we were paying very close attention to _who_ you were doing it _with_. Sesshoumaru doesn't dance, mostly because he can't, but he did last night because it kept you safe. Be mortified if you want, but trust me when I say this is nothing compared to most of the shit we've done when that drunk. Come talk to me when you wake up naked in the middle of a rice field with no idea how you got there. Then you can say you did something stupid, but until then, this is not that bad."

It was like everything she cared about melted away as she pulled her face free and looked at him with a drawn brow. "When did that happen?"

Scratching his own brow, Bankotsu made a face. He knew he offered the information, but that didn't mean he really wanted to talk about it. Letting out a breath, he crossed his arms. "Shortly after my parents died. I wasn't exactly a saint prior to that, but I got a lot worse after it." He saw the question in her eyes, and shook his head. "Can we not right now? I really don't want to talk about it."

Nodding quickly, Kagome herself sighed slightly as she crossed her arms behind her back. "No problem, but I will hound you like you've never dealt with over this if it turns out you're wrong, and last night turns into a thing at work."

Rolling his eyes hard enough to leave him questioning if it was possible for one to see their own brain, Bankotsu snorted. "Do you think if he cared, even slightly, he would have let you? At this point you have to know that guy never does a damn thing he doesn't want to." His damnable smirk returned as he uncrossed his arms, grabbing Kagome by the hips, and pulling back to him. He then looked down at her and locked their eyes. "And if he does poke at you for it, let me know and I'll whoop his ass. No one fucks with my girl."

Biting into her bottom lip, Kagome had to fight back the giggle that bubbled in her throat at the look in his eyes as his possessively spoken word caressed her ears. She still had no idea what he had meant earlier when it came to what they did and what they didn't the night before. She was left with only assumptions, and she wasn't going to do a damn thing she didn't know for sure she already did. She didn't know if she had already drunkenly agreed to the position of 'his girl', and it was because she didn't know, she wasn't going to be backed into a corner over it. Even still, all he said was he wouldn't let someone fuck with her, not that she couldn't fuck with him. "But, I'm not your girl."

There was no pause on Bankotsu's part as he dipped his head until his nose touched hers. His voice dropped in absolute promise, and his eyes burned as they bore into Kagome's. "You will be."


	6. Chapter 6

There was not a single molecule of Kagome's body that wanted to walk through the doors of Kamano. For five minutes, she stood next to her car, contemplating that move to a different country as she stared at Sesshoumaru's shiny silver convertible. She had her apron folded over and held against her chest with crossed arms, her dark eyes shifting back and forth between her boss' car, the employee entrance to the restaurant, and the exit of the parking lot.

She was pretty steadfastly ignoring her name by one of the cooks, trying to get her attention for some reason. She was still stuck on the fact she hadn't recovered all of her memories from Saturday night, but had been told there was very little chance Sesshoumaru wasn't going to remember her drunken antics.

When the cook all but barked her name, and in a pretty pissy tone, Kagome turned her head to the man, her eyes crinkled in the corners. "What?" He snapped at her first, so she didn't see any reason she couldn't snap right the fuck back.

Leon blinked at the clipped tone the girl was not known to use, but shook it off fast enough with a grin. "Where were you Saturday? A bunch of us went out, and I was hoping to see you there."

She tried, she really did, but she could not stop the cringe that came with the latter part of the statement. Leon was alright she supposed, but he was also more than just a bit of a dick, and he tended to be a little too much for her tastes. So, she popped a shoulder in a shrug as she pushed herself off her car door and made her way to the entrance of the building. "I went to a birthday party for a friend's brother."

It was the absolute truth, and no one could say otherwise.

However, the part she wanted to keep quiet, that being where it was, was shattered when she walked inside and was all but accosted by Sango, who wanted to know all about it. Rolling her eyes as the cook shoved past her, knocking her slightly off balance when he discovered she had spent her Saturday night at the hottest club in the city, she then lit up when Sango laced her arms through hers and drug her away from the now pissed off cook.

Unable to go into a massive amount of details because she really didn't remember a lot of it after Sesshoumaru showed up, she actually left that out and just talked about the beginning of the night. When she started to tell Sango about Bankotsu, Sango listened with near stars in her eyes.

Knowing she wasn't told everything, but taking what she could get of the peek into the lives of the rich and famous, Sango sighed. "I'm so jealous, Kags. Like, you don't even understand."

Giggling quietly, Kagome grinned. "Nothing really to be jealous about, honestly. It's really no different than any other club. More expensive for sure, but the music and drinks are the same as anywhere else."

Shaking her head in clear disagreement, Sango grunted as she crossed her arms, leaning on her hip against the salad station. "But... the people. You got to hang out with these people and not have to bend over backwards to accommodate their every ridiculous demand."

She supposed that was true enough, but Kagome didn't do that anyway. Maybe she just got better tables than Sango did, but other than making the kitchen staff's lives harder by making random requests when it came to menu items, the most ridiculous thing she could remember being asked to do was put two tables together for a party of four.

Still, she had seen some of what other servers were asked to do, and nodded in something of a sympathetic way. "I guess, but really, they spent most of the time talking amongst themselves and not really doing anything that said they were there for a birthday party. I mean, at least not how we celebrate birthdays, so it wasn't like you missed out on anything."

The look on Sango's face could only be described as disgust. "Seriously?" At the slightly pinched expression and short nod from Kagome, she then made a noise in the back of her throat. "Rich people are weird. Enough money to do whatever the hell they want, and they choose to stand around and talk business in a place designed to get drunk and make bad decisions." Then, she locked eyes with Kagome. "I hope you showed them what you're actually supposed to do at a club."

Half choking on her tongue, Kagome let out a nervous giggle. "I certainly tried."

Clamping her hand on Kagome's back, Sango laughed. "That's my girl. Well, I gotta jet. I have dinner plans with Miroku. I just wanted to see how your party went, but now that I know, I have some shopping to do."

Kagome just chuckled as she gave a finger curling wave to Sango. With a sigh, she then unfolded her apron, set it in place, and tied it as she made her way out of the kitchen and into the dining room. She did what she could to not look to the bar, hoping to avoid talking to Sesshoumaru for a little longer, but she couldn't stop herself from slanting her eyes that direction. She knew he knew she arrived, and he said nothing to her as she walked through the space and to the hostess stand to have her name put into rotation.

It wasn't until she turned away from Eri she saw Sesshoumaru crook a finger at her, and that little action made her heart stop. Rubbing her arm, she let out a breath before straightening her spine and heading for the bar. When she reached it, she folded her arms on the smooth surface, and gave her best attempt at a smile. "Did you need something, Sesshoumaru-Sama?"

A barely seen smirk pulled at the corner of Sesshoumaru's lips as he pulled something out from under the bar and held it out to the onna that was trying very hard not to blush. "This, is for you."

Blinking at the offering, Kagome reached out and took the small envelope she was presented. Brows creased, she flipped open the tab and blinked once again in shock at the contents. Counting the money inside, she shook her head at it. "I don't understand." Tucking the hundred dollars back into the envelope, she flicked her eyes to her boss. "What's this?"

Lacing his fingers together, Sesshoumaru clicked his tongue. "Ginkotsu dropped it off about an hour ago. It appears there were several thefts committed by the barback at the club Saturday night, and after a review of the security cameras behind the bar, you bag was among the ones stolen from."

Looking at the envelope in her hands, Kagome shook her head. "When my money wasn't in my purse Sunday afternoon, I assumed I gave it all to the bartender."

A purely amused expression settled on Sesshoumaru's features. "I am positive that was your intention before leaving, but in reality, you were actually quite upset when you attempted to tip Doshi and your money wasn't there. From what I was told, several others called to complain about missing items yesterday, and since you informed Bankotsu about how much was missing, and it was confirmed by surveillance, the owners of the club paid it back."

Jolting slightly, Kagome licked her lips. "Well, that was nice of them." Tucking the envelope in her apron, she smiled at Sesshoumaru. "Thanks."

Sesshoumaru allowed her to turn and take three steps before he called out to her. "There is one more thing, Kagome."

With a smile on her lips, Kagome turned back. "Saturday night never happened, right?"

Grinning wide enough to show his teeth, Sesshoumaru let out a dark chuckle. "If you even remember Saturday night, then two things. That, and..." pausing for dramatic effect, he grinned wider. "Ginta was called off."

The statement hit Kagome like a fucking sledgehammer. Eyes going wide, her jaw dropped as her head started shaking slowly back and forth. "No... no no no no no no no." Closing the distance she put between herself and the bar, Kagome lowered her voice as she wrapped her fingers around the edge. "Call him back and tell him to get his ass in here."

Head tilting to the side, Sesshoumaru cocked a brow. "After a car accident?" Seeing her face fall, he shrugged. "You have two choices, and I am sure you know what they are."

Dropping her head, Kagome banged it on the top of the bar a couple of times before she picked it back up and gave Sesshoumaru an expressionless look. "I'm going to end up doing it all anyway, so give me any server, but him, until at least 7, and I'll close by my damn self."

For whatever reason, and Kagome wasn't sure what it was, it seemed as if the Kami themselves took her request as a personal challenge, and made the last four hours of her shift as difficult as fucking possible after the last server of the night was cut. It was never busy on Monday night, and it took her, Sesshoumaru, and Kouga, the night shift bartender, to handle the wave of patrons that bombarded the place less than half an hour after the last server clocked out and left.

Never not once since she started at Kamano had she run her ass off like she did during this particular shift. It took a while for the three on staff to work out a system for the flood of people, but once they got into a decent rhythm, and added the hostess into the mix, it seemed to work for everyone. Eri would seat and take drink orders while Kagome would take food orders and ring everything in. Sesshoumaru did the food running while Kouga dealt with the ordered alcohol and overflow tables. A couple of times Sesshoumaru had to jump behind the bar to catch Kouga up, but mostly, the skeleton staff handled enough business for at least a floor of six because everyone of them refused to deal with Inuyasha if he was called in this late at night.

Sitting on a bar stool, Kagome had her head down, but she groaned pretty loud as she curled and uncurled her toes in her shoes. "What the fuck was that?"

Kouga, who was all but laying backwards on the bartop, shook his head as he stared at the ceiling. "Bullshit... that was bullshit." Turning his head to look at Kagome, he let out a grunt of his own. "I'll tell ya this much, though. If I didn't know for a fact Ginta was laid up in the hospital right now, I would kill him."

Blowing a raspberry, Kagome stretched out her back before sitting up and propping her chin on her knuckles. "How is he, and what happened?"

Pushing himself up and leaning on his elbow, Kouga glared at the wall behind Kagome's head. "Some dipshit ran a red light and t-boned Ginta's car on the driver side. Fucked him up something proper. Broke damn near every bone on that side of his body, lacerated his spleen, punctured his lung, suffered a traumatic brain injury, cuts and bruises, the list goes fucking on. He's gonna be laid up for a while if he survives the injuries, and that's without knowing the full extent of any lasting brain damage."

Pure shock settled on Kagome's face as her jaw dropped. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? Sesshoumaru didn't make it sound that bad."

Kouga just shrugged. "With the way this bullshit shift went, at what point did I have the time? And, Hakkaku didn't tell him anything about it; just that he was in an accident. I'll let him know what's going on in a bit because there is a very good chance he isn't going to be coming back."

Kagome shook her head. "Wow." Looking back at him, she licked her lips. "Why didn't you call off? He's your cousin."

"Which is why I didn't." Then, Kouga shrugged. "The hospital he's at doesn't consider cousins immediate family, so I have to have special permission from my aunt to be allowed in his room, and she's won't get back into town from her business trip for..." looking at his watch, "another two hours." Returning his eyes to Kagome, "so I had two choices. I could either come to work, or I could sit in the ICU waiting room going crazy. I chose the former because... well, Monday. Besides, with Ayame's due date coming up, we could use the money, so there was that to consider, too."

Perking slightly at the reminder of his impending fatherhood, Kagome smiled at him. "That's right. She is really close to her due date, isn't she?"

Despite the situation with his cousin, Kouga couldn't help the wide grin at the question. "Ten days and counting, though at this point I'm positive she could go into labor tonight and be perfectly happy about it. She's completely over this 'pregnancy shit', as she has taken to calling it. I thought she was going to knock her doctor into next week at her appointment this morning when he told her since this was her first baby to not to be surprised if she goes a few days past her due date."

Giggling at the mental image that provided, Kagome grinned. "Certainly sounds like her. Ya know, I don't think you told me what you two were having."

Kouga just grinned back. "That's because I don't know what we're having. She decided she didn't want to know, which apparently in her world, decides that for the both of us." Then he snapped his fingers and couched, opening one of the cupboards and pulling out his backpack. Opening up the front pocket, he pulled out an envelope, and after setting his bag back inside and closing the door, he stood back up and held it out to Kagome. "Before I forget, this is for you."

Taking it from him, Kagome slid her finger under the sticker that was shaped like a bottle, telling her instantly what it was. Pulling out the invitation for the baby shower, she smiled after she looked at the date. "I'll drop by early, but I have to work Saturday."

"You're goddamn right, you do."

Rolling her eyes, she giggled quietly at the look on Kouga's face at Sesshoumaru's reaction to her words. "He's still pissed I took this past Saturday off."

Snorting hard, Kouga shook his head. "I don't blame him. I was here, and it was a shit show once servers started getting cut. There was a point I thought Victoria was going to kill Inuyasha."

Leaning on the bar next to Kagome, Sesshoumaru glared at the waitress next to him. "Hence the reason Father refuses to approve you taking off another Saturday." Once she looked away from him, even with amusement on her face, Sesshoumaru turned to Kouga. "I just got off the phone with Ginta's mother, who I believe is also your aunt."

Feeling his stomach tighten, Kouga cleared the lump that statement put in his throat. "I was going to talk to you about that."

Sesshoumaru just waved a dismissive hand. "She wanted me to pass on to you she was able to get an earlier flight out of Osaka, she has just landed, and she'll meet you at the hospital. My father wanted me to pass on to you he'll have your shifts for the next three days covered, so don't concern yourself with coming in." Once Kouga nodded his understanding, Sesshoumaru straightened his back. "Go; I'll close the bar."

Wasting no time taking up the offer, Kouga gathered his things, but was stopped from leaving behind the bar by Kagome, who blocked the only exit.

Looking up at him, she gave him a dead serious look. "You be careful, do you understand me?"

Grinning wide as he set his helmet on the bar and shouldering his backpack, Kouga wrapped his arms around Kagome's shoulders, and giving her a hard squeeze. "I promise."

Looking up at him, she propped her chin on Kouga's chest, her glare not gone. "I fucking mean it, Kouga. Ayame will literally be the least of your problems if something happens to you."

Rolling his eyes, Kouga pressed his lips to Kagome's forehead before releasing her and picking his helmet back up. "I'm the one that taught you how to fight, remember? Good luck, Short Shit."

Punching him in the shoulder as he pushed past her, Kagome stuck her tongue out at him as he laughed. "If I get a call, and you survive, I promise this will be your only kid."

Grabbing his dick with one hand and a cringe, knowing that was a promise he could take to the bank, Kouga turned and walked backwards. "I'll text you when I get there, deal?"

Nodding once, Kagome watched as Kouga picked up his pace to the back of the dining room and to the kitchen where he would be closer to his bike. Crossing her arms, she sighed slightly, looking to Sesshoumaru and cocking a brow in response to his raised brow. "What?"

Leaning on his forearm, Sesshoumaru lifted a shoulder. "I hadn't known you two were so close."

Smiling slightly, Kagome clicked her tongue. "I've known Kouga since I was three. He and I went to the same daycare, and then the same schools. I was the one that told him you were hiring bartenders when he applied, but I had only been here for like a week at the time, so I didn't think using me as a reference would have helped him any."

Humming in his throat with a slow nod, Sesshoumaru tsked. "At that point, not likely, no. Now, however, Father wants three of you, so I'm sure a recommendation on your part would go a long way."

Unable to stop the blush this time, there was a slightly more uncomfortable clearing of her throat. "Thanks, I guess."

Grinning at her, he chuckled. "It's a compliment, and something you are actually allowed to take, Kagome."

Rubbing her arm, she made a face. "You say compliment. I say added pressure to not fuck up."

Tapping the pad of his index finger on the bar, Sesshoumaru considered that for a moment before he shrugged. "I concede your point." Then, he stood back up. "Well, let's get you cashed out so we can put this place back together and get out of here."

Agreeing without words, Kagome took out her waiter wallet out of her apron, opened it, and pulled out the credit card receipts and order sheets, laying them on the bar as Sesshoumaru printed her POS slip. Grabbing the stapler from just behind the bar, she went about stapling the credit card slips to their corresponding check and order sheet while she waited, and then stapled them all together with the POS slip when it was set next to her.

Looking at the bottom, she glanced at what she owned the house, but smiled wide at the minus sign. Flicking her eyes to Sesshoumaru, she chuckled. "You owe me money, Honey."

Snorting, Sesshoumaru picked up the stack of paper, glancing at the bottom himself. "If that's the case, you certainly did well this evening."

Pulling the cash out of her apron, she set fifty to the side since she started with it, and began to count the remaining cash in her hands, clicking her tongue as she did so. By the time she was done, her eyes were wide and her lips were parted. "Including the seventy you owe me," shifting her eyes to his, "I made almost seven hundred." Looking back at the cash on the bar, she grinned. "That doesn't completely make up for not working Saturday, but it does make up for what I spent to go out on Saturday."

Nodding as he opened the cash drawer behind the bar, he took the seventy the house owed her out and set it on the bar before then folding the bar's POS slip and putting it under one of the cash holders. "You earned it tonight."

Sliding the money to herself, Kagome picked it up, put it with the rest of her money, put it all away, and turned, leaning back against the bar with a pout on her face. "Yeah... now to reclean the dining room that was already clean, redo the back of the house side work that was already done, reroll the silver that was already rolled, and go the fuck home."

Pausing in his stride to the office, Sesshoumaru glanced back over his shoulder. "You don't have any plans this evening?"

Looking him dead in the eyes, her voice was off hand. "On the contrary. I plan to do exactly what I just said, leave, stop somewhere to get food because I'm fucking starving, go home, and go to bed. I'm exhausted, and I agreed to open tomorrow. Which, if I'm going to be honest, is exactly why I'm going to do a half-assed job tonight, because I'm the only one here in the morning, so no one has to know."

Smirking wide, Sesshoumaru held up a finger. "Father will be here in the morning, so I suggest making that half-assed job a little closer to three-quarter-assed." Turning back toward the office when Kagome snorted, he called back to her. "Make sure the dining room is done properly and worry about the silverware in the morning. As for the back of the house, I'll have Father make prep team do it. It'll be midnight or later before we get out of here as it is."

And he was not wrong.

Half past midnight found Kagome nearly asleep in the office as Sesshoumaru continued to do his closing management duties. She was sitting in the spare chair, her weight on the arm on her elbow, and her head propped up by her knuckles. She had gotten the dining room set back to rights, and closed out the bar for Kouga so she didn't have to wait for Sesshoumaru to do so when he was done with his paperwork since company policy stated female employees were not allowed to walk to their cars unescorted after dark.

Sesshoumaru had offered, twice, to walk her out when she was done with cleaning the dining room, but she declined simply so he wasn't there alone. Though he rolled his eyes, he did appreciate it. However, several things dictated what he did behind her back when he noticed Kagome started to nod off waiting on him. He was off the next day, so he could take as long as he wanted. Even going as fast as he could he still had at least another half hour of paperwork, plus the walk through of the dining room, and she had to be back in less than 9 hours at that point. She was falling asleep sitting in the office, which would make her diving a very bad idea. She ran her little ass off for four hours straight, plus did closing work she didn't normally do which required a decent amount of heavy lifting, so her already exhausted body was visibly depleted.

So, he texted Bankotsu to pick her up.

For Kagome, being woken up and finding herself staring into those very distinctive blue eyes of his was a trip and a half, but she didn't have the energy to put up much of a fight when Bankotsu just picked her up when she refused to stand up.

Shifting her slightly in his arms to adjust his hold, Bankotsu looked at Sesshoumaru. "We still on for tomorrow, or are we doing something else since it's so late, and you're not done yet?"

Holding Kagome's apron and purse out to Jakotsu, who came with his brother to drive Kagome's car, Sesshoumaru shook his head. "I have plans with Rin in the evening, but if we push lunch back about an hour, it should be fine."

Bankotsu nodded once. "Then I will see you then. You be careful going home, yeah? If you need a ride, don't hesitate to call."

Though he nodded to the statement, Sesshoumaru also declined. "I'll be fine. Besides, I can always just go to Rin's if I don't think I can make it home."

Clicking his tongue, Bankotsu grunted. "If you're sure, then I'll see you later." Turning away once Sesshoumaru went back to counting the deposit, he left the office, and looked down at Kagome, who was already almost back to sleep. Grinning at her, he chuckled quietly. "Now, let's get you home."

There was a whimper from her as she barely shook her head. "But I'm hungry."

Chuckling once again as he made his way through the kitchen to the back door, he glanced at his brother, who shrugged, before looking back at her. "Then, we'll get you fed, and then get you home."


	7. Chapter 7

"Kagome, a party just came in. Anyway you can take it?"

That... was literally the last thing she wanted to be asked at that moment in time. She had been cut from the floor for twenty minutes, had gotten her side work done, and was just waiting on her last table to finish eating so she could cash out and go home.

Turning her head so slowly her neck nearly creaked, she leveled the hostess with the darkest look she had in her bag of tricks. "No, I can't. My name comes off the board, I come off the floor." When the hostess went to open her mouth, Kagome cut her off. "Do you understand that in the last twenty-four hours, I have been here more than I haven't? I was here until after midnight last night, turned around, and opened this morning for weekly brunch. My feet hurt, I'm tired, and I want to go home."

Not knowing what else to do, the hostess whined at her. "But they requested you."

It seemed she was able to glare a little harder. Voice covered in her irritation, Kagome shrugged up to her ears. "I don't care. I'm cut. I'm done taking tables for the day, and since my name is off the board, I'm not even here anymore." Having nothing else to say, she returned her attention to the silverware she was rolling to pass the time.

However, the hostess wasn't done. Playing with her fingers, she swallowed hard. "I told them you were."

Closing her eyes and praying for strength, Kagome counted to ten her head before looking back at the newest hostess. "You did what?" She didn't actually _need_ the girl to repeat herself, but at the same time, there was no way she heard her right. When, once again, she was told the girl already told the party she was in the building, Kagome attempted to take a calming breath, but it didn't really work. "Fine, I'll take the table, but I swear to Kami, if you seat me again..."

She didn't finish the statement, the girl's eyes saying she got the point. Instead, she finished what she was in the middle of before bestowing one final glare on the hostess as she past her on her way into the dining room. She was prepared for a lot since she was told it was a party, but she wasn't prepared to see twelve people sitting in her section waiting on her. There was a whimper in her throat, but still, she swallowed it back as best she could and plastered a smile on her face as she made her way over to them. She knew who they were, and they were pretty nice or whatever, but they had never all come in at once. This was going to take at least two hours, and she really didn't want to.

The issue she had to contend with at the moment was, there were twelve of them, and since there wasn't anyone else greeting the table, she was left to assume she was going to be taking it on by herself. Double digit guests meant at least two servers, but because the hostess was an idiot...

Approaching the table, Kagome smiled wide, but it wasn't missed by the guests it don't fully reach her eyes like it always had before. Staying as pleasant as possible, Kagome set her hands on the backs of two of the chairs as she greeted the table. "Hi, welcome back. How is everyone doing this afternoon?"

While the pleasant enough greeting set the tone for the party, it did not set it for the remainder of Kagome's shift. For the first time since she started there, Kagome was forced to complain to Toga about the hostess, and though she loathed to do it because really, it seemed childish to her to bitch about her job to the one that gave it to her, she also wasn't left with a choice when, during the time she was taking care of twelve very important guests, she was also given three additional tables to wait on.

The straw that broke the camel's back was when it went from two people at a table to the hostess attempting to unload another huge party on her when, not only was her actual scheduled shift over, but the mid-shift servers had arrived. She hadn't actually sought Toga out, but rather, she was arguing with the hostess about the party when he came to ask why she was still there after he deliberately cut her early because of the shift the night before and her doing him a favor in covering brunch. She whirled on him, unloading her frustrations and telling him she was still there as late as she was when he knew she was almost done when he pulled her off the floor because the hostess was a either a bona fide moron or just a bitch; that she hadn't been able to figure out which way that went as of that point.

It wasn't until she finished yelling at the owner of the restaurant she calmed down enough to realize who she was yelling at, and with a blush and worry on her face, she gulped and waited for him to decide what he was going to do about _her_ , but turned out it wasn't something she needed to be all that worried about. As it stood, he was on her side, and fully understood why she was not just pissed off, but also why she was involved in a screaming match with a newer employee.

A new employee that even Toga ended up wanting to smack upside the head when she went to argue with him over the fact that Kagome's morning section became the responsibility of someone else nearly a full hour prior to that moment. It didn't matter who it was, Toga never kept the Tuesday opener on the floor past one in the afternoon, because they opened at ten on Tuesday instead of the normal time of eleven. He tried very hard to explain to the baka onna how shift change went and it was a fade out of the morning server into the afternoon shift, but the bint just didn't get it. It came down to a threat of firing the hostess if she didn't stop arguing with him and to pass the party of seven to the server it actually belonged to.

Once the girl stormed off, embarrassed at the turn of events, mumbling empty threats under her breath, Toga returned his attention to a slightly less than he figured she would be triumphant Kagome. Crossing his arms, he tilted his head. "What do you have left to do now?"

Scratching the back of her head, Kagome sighed and shrugged. "Everything I was already signed off as having done, plus cash out."

Slanting his eyes to the chart on the wall, Toga hummed. "Your side work was already reassigned. Let's just get you out of here, hmm?"

An indescribably level of excitement overcame Kagome at such a simple question, and one she didn't think twice about nearly begging to agree to. When she was waved off, she all but skipped out of the kitchen, printing up the last bill she had to deliver, and as an added bonus, got to wink at the glaring hostess as she ran all over the place in hunt of the server the girl had been ignoring for nearly an hour. If she wasn't pissed off, Kagome wouldn't have been so petty and told the girl where she could find Victoria, but as it was, she was, and snickered as she dropped the check off to her last table with the widest smile she could flash them. "Just whenever you're ready, Mr. Chen." Looking at the couple she actually really like to wait on, she slipped her hands into her apron. "Is there anything else I can do for you this afternoon?"

With a shake of his head, Mr. Chen dropped some cash in the bill folder and held it out to Kagome. "No, Kagome. I think we're good."

Smile still on her face as she took the black folder from one of her regulars, "I'll be right back with your change, okay?"

Grabbing his sport coat as he slid closer to the edge of his booth seat, he waved her off. "Keep it, and we'll see you next time."

Holding the folder in both hands in front of her thighs, Kagome bowed her head. "Thank you, Mr Chen." Looking back at him as he stood, she nodded to the rest of the statement. "And, Kami willing, I'll certainly be here." Looking to Mrs. Chen, she grinned. "You have a wonderful rest of your day."

Mrs. Chen smiled back as she reached out and squeezed Kagome's arm. "You too, Dear."

Waving after the couple as they headed for the exit, Kagome met Toga at the POS to cash out her last table and get her end of shift sales receipt. Once that was done, it took her less than fifteen minutes to clock out, and she literally ran out the backdoor before she could be asked to do anything else that day. All she could focus on was Toga not holding her to telling Sesshoumaru while closing the night before she would help cover Ginta's shifts until the schedule ran out and getting to keep her day off. She had switched shifts for the day, normally being a closer on Tuesday, but with what happened to Ginta so sudden, it was easier to cover a closing shift than an opening one, so she had agreed to open and have her shift covered instead.

At the moment though, other than having the rest of day, and the next, to do whatever the hell she wanted without having to worry about going to work, she thought to call Sango to see what she was up to, but decided to instead call Kouga to check on Ginta. That conversation with him led to an agreement to meet for food, which led to a rather loud confrontation with Kyokotsu, who saw the two of them together.

Kouga just sat there with wide eyes as the behemoth of a man laid into Kagome over two-timing his little brother, who to Kouga's knowledge she had only met three days prior, refusing to listen to her when she tried to explain the situation. He stayed out of it for the most part, only interjecting himself into things when the man called her a whore. Kouga's interjection, however, was shooting out of his chair with a 'hey', and decking the dude in the mouth when he looked his direction.

It then became Kouga's turn to ignore Kagome when he went after Kyokotsu again, but didn't fight her when she put herself between him and the guy he dropped to the ground. Instead, he put his fight in voice, and barked with a bite. "Three things, fucknut. One, no one calls my best friend a whore, kay? I'll knock your goddamn teeth out if you do it again. Two and three, I have a fucking girlfriend who is extremely fucking pregnant. Two things you would have known had you listened to a word she fucking said."

Kagome, shoving against Kouga's chest, tried like hell to push him back, but between Ginta's rather bleak prognosis and Ayame's impending due date, he was about as high strung as she had ever seen him, and it was more like pushing against a brick wall. So, instead, she pleaded with him. 'Kouga, please; you're not helping anything."

Turning his glare on her, he shook his head. "Good, because I'm not trying to." Taking a half step back, he pointed a finger in Kagome's face. "And you... are too goddamn nice sometimes. Believe it or not, being called a whore is not, actually, okay."

"I agree with him."

Dropping her face in her hands, Kagome groaned loud enough for the Kami to hear. "Son of a bitch."

Kouga, watching Kagome fold into herself, looked to where the new voice came from, locking his blue eyes on a second set that was looking bemused right back at him. Swinging his arm around, Kouga then pointed to him. "And who the fuck is that?"

Kagome, dropping her arms in the most defeated manner possible, she stomped her foot like a toddler. "That's the little brother."

Kouga, jaw going slack and brows shooting to his bangs, he looked back and forth between Kagome and the guy, before settling on her. "That's the..." Turning to him, "little brother?"

Bankotsu, a smirk on his lips and his arms crossed, chuckled. "The little brother."

Scratching the under part of his chin, Kouga grunted. "But of course you are."

Kagome, looking to the sky, legitimately whined. "This isn't funny. I just wanted to eat." Shaking her head, she then sighed as she looked at Bankotsu. She was only slightly able to keep her mouth from sticking together when she saw him a pair of jeans and t-shirt that was stretched across his chest in all the right ways. "What are you even doing here?"

Glancing down at his brother, Bankotsu shrugged. "Funny story." Pointing a thumb over his shoulder, he looked back at Kagome. "I was having lunch with Sesshoumaru across the street," recrossing his arms, "when I got a text from my brother telling me my girlfriend was seeing someone else behind my back. I had told him," looking at Kyokotsu who was back on his feet, "you hadn't agreed to that yet, and it was fine," looking to Kouga, "when I looked out the window just in time to watch you hit my brother in the face." Chuckling under his breath, he shrugged again as he looked at Kagome. "Naturally, I kind of had to come see what the hell was going on after seeing something like that."

Kagome, licking her lips, then dropped back down into her seat and slouched. "There is literally nothing funny about what you just said." Clicking her tongue, she looked back and forth between Bankotsu and Kouga for a moment before lifting an arm and waving it between them. "Kouga, Bankotsu; Bankotsu, Kouga."

Having been apprised of who the man was by Sesshoumaru when he did get a little miffed when his brother told him Kagome was having lunch with some dude when he thought she was still at work, Bankotsu grinned as he stepped forward and held out a hand. "Pleasure."

Kouga, taking Bankotsu's hand more out of habit than desire, squeezed his fingers. "We'll see." Letting out a yelp when Kagome slammed her foot hard into the side of his calf, he glared at her before turning back to Bankotsu. "Pleasure's all mine, Man."

Squeezing his fingers in return, Bankotsu chuckled. "We'll see." Releasing Kouga's hand, he then looked at Kyokotsu. "I believe you owe someone an apology."

Rubbing his jaw, Kyokotsu glared at his brother, and when it became apparent he was going to do no such thing, Bankotsu rolled his eyes. "You're an asshole." Looking back to Kouga and Kagome, he gave them a smile. "Well, I'll leave you to your lunch, and get back to mine." Looking more at Kagome, he clicked his tongue with a smirk. "Call me later, Pretty Girl."

Agreeing with a nod, though she didn't sit up more in her seat, she watched as Bankotsu glared his brother one last time before turning away, and heading toward the road, pausing, and jogging back to the hibachi grill that was across the street from the small cafe she met Kouga at.

Propping her temple against her knuckles, Kagome looked at Kyokotsu with a drawn expression. "Any other nasty names you want to call me?"

Unbeknownst to the three at the cafe, Bankotsu had paused before entering the restaurant, glancing back to make sure the deescolated situation didn't escalate once again. Why he thought his older brother would just walk away when he did, he didn't know, but his eyes darkened when he saw Kyokotsu once again lean into Kagome's face. Filing it away with narrowed eyes, he returned to his lunch with murder plans swirling in his mind.

 ***X***

With his shoulder blades against the side of the building, Kouga glared at the sidewalk, the smoke from his cigarette dancing in the slight breeze as he waited for 'the little brother'. While he had been angry over the arrival of the rat bastard that called her a whore, he was now down right pissed off, and had every intention of having a word or two with this new guy.

Kagome, as a general rule, didn't get upset over a lot, usually letting everything go as it happened, or at least within a few minutes of whatever was going on ending. This time, however, after Bankotsu left, his brother left her with some parting words that truly upset her. So much so in fact, she refused to finish her lunch. She just put some money on the table, apologized to Kouga about if she added anymore stress to his currently over stressed life, and left no more than three minutes after the monster of a man walked off.

Now, while there were some things Kouga would love to say to that guy, he had vanished into the crowd and was gone from sight before Kagome got up and said she would call him later. However, what Kagome was told had much more to do with this Bankotsu guy than it did the mammoth of a man, so instead, he figured he would start there.

He wasn't left to wait long, only about ten minutes or so before he saw Bankotsu walk outside with Sesshoumaru in tow. Dropping his cigarette, he stepped on it with his toes, stubbing it out before calling out. "Hey, Little Brother."

Pausing in his stride, Bankotsu turned his head, sighing quietly at the sight of Kagome's friend standing about ten feet away. "This looks fun."

Sesshoumaru, however, thought it was funny and his humor was in his voice when he spoke. "Well, you do come with six older brothers, so really, it's only fair you have to deal with the closest thing she has to one."

Glaring up at him, Bankotsu sniffed. "This isn't funny."

Sesshoumaru disagreed. "On the contrary; it's fucking hysterical. Good luck."

Glare not gone, Bankotsu watched him walk away for a moment as he mentally prepared himself for whatever this guy wanted to say to him. He wouldn't begrudge him for having a sense of protection over Kagome, but he really wasn't in the mood to deal with it. Even still, knowing without needing to be told it was better to just get it over with, with his hands clasped behind his back, he did head over to Kouga, a half-assed smirk on his lips. "You bellowed?"

Completely unimpressed, Kouga crossed his arms, his eyes clashing with Bankotsu's. "I'm only going to say this once. I've known Kagome for twenty years. If I don't like you, I can make you disappear."

Smirk growing to show his teeth, Bankotsu chuckled as he lifted an arm, picking a piece of lint off Kouga's shirt. "Kouga, was it?" Looking him back in the eye, he kept his voice and face clear of anything but pleasantness. "I'm only going to say this once. If you ever threaten me again, I _will_ make you disappear." Sidestepping the man, Bankotsu then patted the front of Kouga's shoulder. "Good talk."

Kouga, however, wasn't finished, and grabbed Bankotsu's bicep before he could make what he thought would be a triumphant exit. Jerking him back around, a dark glare settled on Kouga's face as his voice took on a much less friendly tone. "Don't think for a fucking second your status means a goddamn thing to me. I've been there for her through every last one of you, and I'll beat the shit out of you just the same as I beat the shit out of them. If you're just using her to fill the time until your perfect little pampered princess shows herself, walk away now or you're going to learn the hard way I don't make threats, and you disappearing is a fucking promise." Using the grip he still had on Bankotsu's arm, Kouga yanked him close and all but growled in his face. "Good talk."

Catching his balance as he was shoved by his arm, Bankotsu scoffed hard, his face showing nothing but pure confusion. "Perfect little pamp... what the fuck are you talking about? Not that I owe you shit since you aren't actually her brother, but for your fucking information, I would have married that girl the night we met if I'd been given half the fucking chance, so don't you dare stand there and accuse me of something you know jack shit about. And, while we're on the subject of things you know jack shit about, she's the one that keeps turning me down, so how the fuck could I possibly be using her for anything?"

The look that overtook Kouga's face was one of absolute pleasure as he recrossed his arms. "Then looks like you've got a lot of explaining to do, don't you, Richie Rich?"

It was always fun when dealing with someone who was in love with the object of one's desire, but in this case, it was certainly a headache he didn't want to deal with. In that moment, he didn't know if the two of them had dated and in the past and it just didn't work out, and quite honestly, Bankotsu didn't give a shit. The reality was, this Kouga guy had all but screamed to the Kami about his extremely pregnant girlfriend, which meant he was absolutely no form of competition. The fact Kouga was clearly in love with Kagome was something he was going to have square with his pregnant girlfriend over someday, but whether he could or not was no care of his. The only thing Bankotsu cared about in that moment was one thing.

Head tilting slightly to the side, a sense of foreboding bubbled in Bankotsu's gut at the look that he was getting. Every last ounce of anger from a moment ago melted away and a very flat tone took over his voice. "What did my brother say to her after I left?"

Walking backwards, Kouga slipped his hands into his pockets. "According to her? He just confirmed everything she already knew about the two of you."

Jolting as he watched Kouga turn to walk away, Bankotsu darted forward, cutting Kouga off and shaking his head. "That's not going to cut it. What did he say?"

Kouga just leaned in close, stopping just before his nose touched Bankotsu's. "I don't like you, so I'm not helping you. Figure it out yourself."

This time when Kouga went to walk away, Bankotsu didn't stop him. He did watch him, but he was more focused on his phone he pulled from his pocket. Eyes locked on Kouga's back, he hit the 2 and send, set his phone to his ear, and waited. Counting the rings, he knew when he was sent to voicemail because his call was ignored over Kagome just not answering. Ripping the phone from his ear with a "fuck", he pivoted on his toes and walked with purpose toward his car, trying to call Kagome again, and getting the same results.

Growling as he once again dropped his arm, he pulled out his keys and unlocked his car, tossing his phone onto the passenger seat as he slid into his. Slipping the key into the ignition, he tapped his thumb against the wheel a few times before he turned it and started the engine. There was only one thing that came to mind of what Kyokotsu could have said to Kagome to have this result, and it was also the one thing he had spent a lot of time trying to convince her didn't matter. If it turned out Kyokotsu threw _Bankotsu's_ money in her face, he would absolutely kill his brother.


	8. Chapter 8

Walking into his brother's townhome like he owned the place, Bankotsu ignored one brother and made a beeline for another. It had taken several calls to find out where Kyokotsu vanished to after he left the cafe Kagome was having lunch at, but ultimately, Renkotsu was the one that told him he had just walked through his door.

Finding him in the kitchen with his hand in the silverware drawer, Bankotsu walked soundless up behind him and slammed the drawer shut with Kyokotsu's hand still inside. Crossing his arms, Bankotsu glared hard at his brother as he dropped to his knees, holding his probably broken fingers. "What the fuck did you do?"

The screams of pain coming from Kyokotsu brought Renkotsu running into his kitchen, but one glance at the look of death on Bankotsu's face had him taking a half step back. "Dude... what the hell?"

Turning that glare on Renkotsu, Bankotsu all but barked at him. "Stay out of it." Watching as he put his hands up and backed off, he returned his sights to Kyokotsu, who was bitching about how he broke his fingers. A dark chuckle slipped past Bankotsu's lips as he grinned. "Depending on how you answer this, I'm gonna break more than that. What the fuck did you say to Kagome?"

Kyokotsu could not understand what his baby brother was so pissed off about. As far as he was concerned, if he was successful, he had done Bankotsu a favor in getting rid of the little tramp. Even still, the gleam in Bankotsu's eyes demanded an answer, so he gave one. "I told her exactly how it is."

Grin spreading across his lips, Bankotsu ran his tongue along his teeth as he crouched down to Kyokotsu's level on the floor, draping his now laced fingers between his thighs. "Did you? Well, now, you get to tell _me_ how it is."

Holding his hand to his chest, Kyokotsu got to his feet, Bankotsu rising with him and keeping eye contact, even as his 7 foot frame towered over Bankotsu. Still feeling justified, Kyokotsu looked down at him, and with a straight face, did just that. "She's no different than any other gold-digging whore that isn't good enough for you, and that's exactly what I told her."

Kyokotsu might have been nearly a foot taller than him, but having had his ass kicked all his life by all six of his brothers, Bankotsu learned at a young age how to knock this particular brother down to his size. There was no time for defense on Kyokotsu's part either. Nearly fast as lightning, Bankotsu's fist was buried in Kyokotsu's stomach, and as he bent in half from having the wind knocked out of him, Bankotsu grabbed both sides of his head and drove his knee straight into Kyokotsu's nose.

The only thing that stopped the assault once Kyokotsu was on his back was Renkotsu darting into his kitchen, snagging Bankotsu off his feet, and twisting away, setting him back down and shoving him back, staying between his livid baby brother and the one that actually kind of deserved that. Since he met the girl she was all Bankotsu talked about, and to find out what he just did... Renkotsu may have literally just saved Kyokotsu's life.

Bankotsu lunged forward, but though his body was held back, he let his mouth do the fighting. "Who the fuck do you think you are that you get to decide who's worth _my_ time, you son of a bitch!"

Renkotsu, who was going to try to defuse the situation, shook his head. "Don't call Mother a bitch, Bank."

Locking his blazing eyes on Renkotsu, Bankotsu all but snarled. "I beginning to question if he has the same one because the woman that raised us would have knocked his ass back to the Feudal Era for that."

Letting out a slow breath, Renkotsu nodded once, because he was absolutely right. "I'm not saying you don't have every reason to be angry. Just leave Mother out of it, alright? She has nothing to do with it."

Lips pulling from his teeth, Bankotsu's voice dropped and took a pretty decent growl. "Then let me hit him again."

This time, Renkotsu shook his head. "No."

Looking at Kyokotsu, who was still on the floor, holding his face with both hands, blood from his nose sliding down his cheeks, Bankotsu pressed his lips together, doing his absolute best to calm down, but he wasn't completely successful. Instead, he scoffed hard. "You had better hope I can fix this, because if I can't, pray the Kami are merciful, because I won't be."

Shoving Renkotsu out of his way, Bankotsu was going to leave it at that and try again to call Kagome, but Kyokotsu's muffled voice stopped him before he was fully out of the kitchen.

"I did you a favor."

Renkotsu smacked his palm against his face, and this time, didn't move a muscle to get between him and Bankotsu. At this point, Kyokotsu was asking for it.

Slowly turning his head, the look on Bankotsu's face truly questioned the intelligence of his older brother. "A favor? You think you did me a favor? Oh, I can't wait to hear this."

Rolling his eyes to the side, Kyokotsu swallowed. "She's no different than Kagura; only after your money."

Visibly startled at the statement, Bankotsu blinked. "What... the actual fuck? I was the one pursuing Kagome, you Dipshit. _She_ was the one repeatedly turning _me_ down, not the other way around. And, again, shit like that is not for you to decide. But, calling someone a gold-digger is actually pretty funny coming from the one of us that pissed away everything he had and lives with someone else because you can't be bothered to grow the fuck up and support yourself, trying to live off the prestige of our last name you did nothing to earn. This will be the only time I say this, so pay very close attention. You don't get to make decisions about my life, or who I spend my time with. Those decisions are mine and mine alone, and if you interfere in this one more Goddamn time Kyokotsu, it will take more than our five brothers to save you."

Turning away, he called back over his shoulder as he headed for the door. "As for Kagura... she was a mistake I made five fucking years ago." Opening the door, he gave one last statement before he slammed it behind him. "Let it go; I sure as hell have."

Curling and uncurling his fingers as he made his way down the path from Renkotsu's front door to his car, Bankotsu took several deep breaths, letting them out slowly as he cracked his neck. Setting his palms on the hood of his car, he lowered his head, his eyes darting back and forth as he tried to figure out a way to undo what Kyokotsu did. He had known within an hour of meeting her his money had been a point of contention. Not necessarily in a bad way, but certainly in a way that caused her to be extremely standoffish when it came to her giving him the time of day, because she told him _that fucking morning_ she was worried about how she would be seen, and her one fucking fear that kept her from consenting to be his was confirmed because Kyokotsu was a dick.

He had taken her to his house when he picked her up from work the night before because he lived closer than she did, so she could sleep a little longer than she could otherwise. Other than her taking a crack at him over the fact whenever she woke up around him she was in a strange bed and wearing men's clothing, they had a decent time together before she left for work. During which time, he spent almost an hour trying like hell to convince her her fears were unfounded and no one would think shit about her.

Not ten hours later, he was proven a liar by his own fucking brother.

And it wasn't even one who had a fucking leg to stand on as far calling anyone anything.

Drumming his fingers on the hood of his car, he clicked his tongue. "The fuck am I gonna do?"

While he didn't expect an answer, when you have so many brothers, they tended to pop up out of the woodwork. "Move your fucking car, is what is what you're gonna do."

Slanting his eyes to Ginkotsu, Bankotsu just cocked a brow. "Or... you can leave your damn car on the street."

Blinking at the attitude he was pretty sure he didn't deserve, Ginkotsu crossed his arms. "The hell bug crawled up your ass today?"

Pushing himself to stand, Bankotsu leaned his hip on his car and crossed his arms. "Kyokotsu."

Cringing, Ginkotsu snorted. "Ooh... that's a big bug." Watching Bankotsu roll his eyes to the sky and barely shake his head with a sigh, he then grunted as he made his way over to the opposite side of Bankotsu's car, folding his arms on the roof, and propping his chin on them. "Uh, oh... what'd he do this time, and how much is it going to cost?"

Licking his lips, Bankotsu pulled the corner of his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment before he looked to his brother. "For once... it isn't something we can just throw money at and make it go away."

Picking his head up, Ginkotsu curled his lip. "Then what did he do?"

Remaining silent, Bankotsu turned and mirrored Ginkotsu's position, crossing his ankles and propping his foot on his toes. Picking at a hangnail, Bankotsu sighed out a hard puff. "He..." pausing, trying to force the words out, shook his head as he looked at his fingers. "He very likely ruined any chance I had with Kagome today."

Rearing back, Ginkotsu gripped the top of Bankotsu's car with his fingertips. "He did what?"

Nodding, knowing he didn't have to actually repeat himself, Bankotsu grunted. "Yeah. According to his tiny little mind, every girl is Kagura." Flicking his eyes to Ginkotsu, "and he said so to Kagome's face this afternoon."

Beyond confused, Ginkotsu was at a loss for words. When he did find them, they weren't any less confused sounding than the look that remained on his face. "That train wreck happened what? Like five years ago, and lasted four months, maybe?"

Bankotsu shrugged. "Something like that. Apparently though, it left a very lasting impression on the son of bitch."

Ginkotsu leveled him with a look. "Don't call Mom a bitch, Dude. It's not her fault he turned into a dick."

Unable to fully bite it back, Bankotsu chuckled. "Renkotsu said the same thing."

Grinning at him, Ginkotsu chuckled himself. "Twin thing, I suppose." When Bankotsu just shrugged in response, Ginkotsu hummed in his throat. "Why don't you just go talk to her?"

Bankotsu just shook his head. "She won't answer my calls."

Clicking his tongue one, Ginkotsu shook his head. "Twenty-seven years old, and still very much a baby, aren't you?" Knowing he had his attention from the look he got for that, Ginkotsu smiled at him. " _Go_ talk to her. You know where she lives. You know where she works. Grow a fucking pair and face her like a man. Look, Bank, listen; I'm not going to point out the lunacy of you being so pissed off after knowing the girl for three days. Mom and Dad were married less than month after they met, and were blissfully happy for over twenty years before they died. The thing is though, they had to fight a lot of battles to be together. In this case, though Kyokotsu may have been the one to make this mess, if you're serious about this girl, _you_ are going to have to be the one to clean it up. You just have to decide if she's worth it."

Bankotsu had to wonder for a moment if he looked as offended as he felt when he scoffed. "Of course she is."

All Ginkotsu did was smile wider as he leaned over the top of Bankotsu's car. "Then what are you still doing here?"


	9. Chapter 9

"He still hasn't given up, huh?"

Doing her best to ignore the shrill sound of her phone, Kagome sighed and shook her head. "No. My mom told me he's been to the shrine twice. Once late yesterday afternoon, and once today."

Sango, pausing what she was doing, slowly turned her head, looking at Kagome with a cocked brow. "And... you're still going to ignore him?"

Kagome just shrugged. "He'll give up eventually, right?"

Sitting back on her hunches, grabbing the side of the coffee table and drumming her nails on the glass top, Sango grunted. "Is that what you really want? Because, if it is, you're an idiot."

Jolting back from the statement and pressing herself further into the couch she was sitting on, Kagome blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

Sango looked her dead in the eyes. "You put way too much stock into what someone else said."

Crossing her arms with a huff, Kagome once again shook her head. "I knew Kyokotsu was right before he said a fucking word to me."

Even knowing how depressed she had been since that altercation with Kyokotsu the day before, Sango wasn't having anything part of Kagome thinking that douche canoe was right about her. "His brother's opinion doesn't fucking matter, Babes. His does, and clearly he does not agree with the sentiment of you not being good enough, whatever the hell that means, or being worth his time. Look at shit from an outsider's perspective."

Waiting a moment to make sure she had Kagome's attention, she ticked off her points with her fingers. "He took care of you when you had too much to drink on _his_ birthday. He nursed you through the worst hangover you've ever had. He left his house in the middle of the night to pick you up from work because you fell asleep in the office. He took you to his house because he lives closer than you do so you could sleep later. Twice now, according to your mom, he has made a two hour round trip to the shrine on the off chance you might be there. Yeah, Kagome you're absolutely right. You aren't worth his time he has literally gone out of his way to spend with you since the night he met you."

Cringing as shit was laid out for her like that, Kagome's face puckered slightly. "Ouch."

Sango just shrugged in a way as to say 'so what' without actually saying the words. Instead, she said something else. "Sometimes the truth hurts, and here is some more for you. He might have a brother who's an overstepping dick, but you're being an overreaching bitch, and that's worse."

Starting at the statement, Kagome scoffed. "No, I'm not. We are worlds apart, and I don't fit into his."

Sango, having reached the end of her tolerance for stupidity, finally raised her voice, figuring it was the only thing that would finally get the hard headed bitch to pay attention. "He doesn't fit into his own fucking world!" When Kagome went to open her mouth again, Sango beat her to it. "You act like I don't know who Bankotsu Akasaki is. I might not have met him in person, but I've read enough about him to know he doesn't give a rat's ass about social status, and the only one that does here is you. So he has a dick of a brother. So do I. Hell, Kagome, so do you. The beauty of Bankotsu is, if you don't like one, he has five more to fucking choose from."

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Sango licked her lips and shook her head. "Look, Kags, if you don't want to be with him, that's one thing, and perfectly acceptable. What's not is you acting like a child and ignoring him in hopes he goes away. You're an adult. Pull up your big girl panties and tell him to his face if that's the case."

She hated getting mad at her friends, but at that point, Kagome's blood was nearly boiling. Now glaring at Sango, Kagome snipped. "Or, you can stay the fuck out of it."

Sango leaned closer to her over the table, not taking Kagome's shit. "You brought me into it when you decided to hide from him at my house. Grow up already and answer the fucking phone, or I will, and I'll tell him exactly where to find you and hold your stubborn ass hostage until he gets here. Fucking test me."

It was almost on cue her phone rang again, drawing a grunt from Kagome and an 'I dare you' look from Sango.

With a hard sigh, Kagome picked up her phone, but blinked at the name on the screen. "It's Ayame." Eyes going wide, she muttered a 'shit' and answered her phone. "Oh, Kami, please don't be going into labor."

The voice that came through the line was cracked and hitched. " _I wish, with everything, that's why I've trying to call you._ "

Stomach tightening, more from the voice than the words, Kagome lightly cleared her throat. "Then why are you?"

" _You need to come to the hospital."_

Those words brought everything in Kagome's world crashing down around her. Her breath caught in her throat, and she couldn't swallow the lump that formed. Hard, short breathes slipped past her lips as eyes went distant. Her voice was rough, and that caught Sango's immediate attention, though she stayed quiet while Kagome was on the phone. "What happened?"

A sniffle proceeded the answer. " _There was a bleed in his brain... and..."_

Closing her eye to fight back the tears, Kagome shook her head hard, like if she didn't believe it, it wouldn't be real, and cut the girl off. "Don't... don't you dare."

There was a whimper in her ear. " _Kagome, I am so, so sorry."_

When the first tear broke from the corner of her eye, Kagome stood up. She didn't say anything else as she hung up her phone, her actions becoming clumsy and frantic as she looked around for her purse. She didn't look at Sango as she set her phone down on the kitchen counter next to her purse, digging for her keys, and speaking with heartbreak in her voice. "I have to go. I... I have to go." Finding her keys, she snagged her purse and jogged through the apartment to the door, ignoring Sango as she called after her, not even getting the front door closed all the way as she then darted down the hall to the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator.

Sango, who tired to go after her, called down the hall. "Your phone!" Though she held the device up, Kagome didn't turn back, and Sango sighed as she dropped her arm when the door to the stairwell slammed shut. "Damn it." Scratching her head, she paused, bringing Kagome's phone back into her line of sight. Clicking her tongue, she began to walk backwards, her lips pursed in thought. Lightly closing her door, she pressed the side button, and finding out there wasn't a password to get into the phone, she grinned as she turned and made her way to her living room. "Alright, Mr. Akasaki. Let's see what she really means to you."

She wasn't stupid. With the part of the conversation she heard, she had a pretty good idea what happened. She also knew how close Kagome was to that entire family. More than that, she knew Kagome well enough to know she would be so focused on trying to be strong for Kouga and Hakkaku, she would hold everything she was feeling inside until she knew they were okay, which was absolutely unhealthy. If she wanted to be there for them, fine. What Sango wanted to know was...

Would Bankotsu be there for her?

Scrolling through Kagome's missed calls since that would be the fasted way to get his number, she didn't even switch phones, just hit send and put Kagome's phone to her ear, waiting through the rings. This would be his only chance, and if he wanted to play games and do something as stupid as not answer in some ridiculous attempt to teach Kagome a lesson, Sango would take back everything she said in his defense and keep Kagome hidden from him as long as it took for the calls to stop.

Just when she thought his voice mail was going to pick up, a gruff sounding voice came through the line. It wasn't a pissed off gruffness; more like the one you hear when you wake someone up. " _Hey there._ "

Pressing her lips together, Sango cleared her throat. "Hey there, yourself."

A voice that was once covered in sleep was now colored in confusion. " _You're not Kagome._ "

Trying very hard to bite back the chuckle, Sango cleared her throat. "No, I'm not. This is her friend Sango. She left her phone here when she took off a minute ago, and I figured the decent thing to do would be for someone to return one of your calls."

The confusion in his voice did not lessen. " _I haven't called since this morning._ "

Jaw going lax, Sango's eyes widened, and her voice was under her breath. "Oh, no... was that her this whole time?"

It might have been quiet, but Bankotsu heard her nonetheless. " _What are you talking about?_ "

Hand over her mouth, Sango took a moment to digest Kagome had been ignoring Ayame's calls all afternoon before she dropped her hand, licked her lips, and let out a breath. "I'm going to fill you in on a few things. What you do with the information is up to you."

And that's exactly what she did. For ten minutes, she explained the relationship between Kagome and the Shun family; how they had all known each other damn near all their lives, and how she was as much a part of their family as she was part of her own.

While Bankotsu wasn't at all a fan of finding out Kagome had in fact had some kind of relationship with Kouga for a short time while they were in high school, what got a raised brow out of him was also hearing it wasn't quote, unquote dating. What it was, was Kouga finding out some asshole tried to cross a line with Kagome she didn't want to cross, so he stepped into the role of 'boyfriend' long enough to get the guy to leave her alone. That was literally the long and the short of anything happening between them.

Sango stressed hard the fact neither one of them ever saw the other in a romantic sort of way, having met as toddlers, but if someone didn't know their history, Sango also conceded to the fact it did look like something it wasn't. However, though Kouga was very protective of Kagome, he was very much in love with his girlfriend.

Once she imparted that to him, she moved on and took a shortcut to more recent events. "Her friendship with Kouga led to her meeting his cousins Ginta and Hakkaku, and for the last twenty years, the four of them have been extremely close. Over that time, she's basically become the little sister none of them ever had. Having said all of that, Monday afternoon, Ginta was in a... _horrific_ car accident. Someone ran a red light and t-boned the driver's side of his car, and... well, he survived the impact, but... um... Anyway, right before I called you, Kagome got a call from Ayame, and she took off out of here like bat out of hell, and left her phone behind. I don't know what was said to her, but I do know Ginta's chances of pulling through with the injuries he has were never very high."

There was a minute or so of silence before a much clearer voice came through the line. " _What hospital?_ "

Sango wasn't able to say anything more than "General" before there was a click in her ear, leaving her to stare at the phone in her hand. After a moment, she grinned again, tossing Kagome's phone on her coffee table and picking up her TV remote. "Well... guess that answers that."

 ***X***

It had taken Kagome twenty minutes to get to the hospital, not realizing she didn't have her phone until she was almost there. Being pointless to go back for it, she pulled into the valet line, taking the ticket, and running inside, bypassing the front desk and heading straight for the elevator. This being the hospital her grandfather had been taken to, she knew where she was going, and seriously contemplated taking the stairs. The only reason she didn't was the there were people getting on it as she got near, she frantically yelled for them to hold it, panting for breath as she slipped inside.

Asking for the fourth floor, Kagome tried to settle her breathing so that she could pull herself together. She had cried on the drive, but now was the time she had to knock it off. Her friends needed her strength more than she needed to cry, and by the time the doors opened on her floor, she was able to dry her cheeks, but there was little she could do about her bloodshot eyes.

Stepping off the elevator, Kagome took a split second to take another breath before she was off again, darting down the hall to the ICU, weaving through the people that didn't move out of the way and completely ignoring everyone who told her to slow down. She didn't run into anyone, so they could fuck themselves with their slow downs.

Shoulder checking the door when she reached it, she came to a slightly sliding stop on the waxed floor, looking around the waiting room, a breathless "Ayame" falling from her lips when she saw her red hair pulled up in their normal pigtails.

Turning her own tear streaked face to the voice, Ayame, set her hand on her bulging belly, slowly standing up as Kagome approached her. She didn't make a move to hug her, Kagome's stance one that clearly said she didn't want to be touched. Instead, she swallowed hard, and waited to answer the expected question.

Waiting until she was closer so as to not to disturb the handful of others in the room, Kagome gulped down the clog in her throat. "He was... when?"

Licking her lips and letting out a breath, Ayame rubbed her belly where she was kicked. "This morning. They tried, there just... it was too late and there was nothing they could do."

Digging her nails into her arm to try and keep herself grounded, Kagome's voice hitched slightly. "Did they miss it?"

Ayame slightly lifted a shoulder. "They couldn't see it. The neurologist said it was small and hidden by the swelling. This morning, Ginta wasn't responding to stimuli anymore, so they did an MRI. Dr. Cruz said by the time the swelling went down enough to find it, his brain had been bleeding since Monday, and I am so sorry, Kagome."

Wincing as she removed her nails from her skin, Kagome took a moment before she took a hard breath and nodded. "Where are they?"

Ayame nodded to the doors that separated them from the waiting room and patient room. "They're with him. Mrs. Shun already filled out the paperwork for you. Just tell them who you are at the desk and they'll tell you where to go. There's a little bit of time left until they... um..."

Kagome finished the statement. "Declare him dead." When Ayame gave a few shallow nods, Kagome looked to the desk, then the doors, then back to Ayame. "Aren't you coming?"

Ayame, however, shook her head. "No. This time is for family. Besides, I'm late for an appointment with my OB. I just wanted to wait for you to get here."

As Kagome and Ayame were parting ways, in a different part of the hospital, Bankotsu was walking toward his brother, calling out to him once the nurse he was talking to left. "Hey, Suikotsu."

Turning to the sound of his baby brother's voice, Suikotsu grinned as he crossed his arms. "Well, look what the cat dragged in. Oh, and by the way, thanks for leaving me to clean up your mess with Kyokotsu." Pointing at him, "you know you broke his nose and four of his fingers, right?"

Bankotsu waved a dismissive hand. "Send me the bill. I need to talk to you about something."

Looking around him, Suikotsu pointed to an empty room. "Sure, I have a few minutes. We can talk in here." Closing the door after Bankotsu was inside, he looked at his brother. "What's going on?"

Leaning back against the exam table, Bankotsu clicked his tongue and looked at his brother. "What do you know about Ginta Shun?"

Face dropping, Suikotsu sighed hard as he took a seat in the parent's chair. "Horrible what happened to that kid. Something so small, and so easy to fix. Cruz is going to beat himself up over this for years if it's not the case that leads to him ending his career."

Flicking his eyes to Bankotsu's he shook his head. "I shouldn't be telling you anything about this, so keep your mouth shut. He came in Monday afternoon. He's a little older than my normal patients, but I was available, and he needed help right then. This kid was messed up from his hair to his toes. He was hit by a truck, and it all but crushed his entire left side. We have no idea how he didn't die in the crash, or how he didn't die in the ambulance. There is no medical explanation for how he survived those kind of injuries. They aren't something you live through long enough to get help.

"We did triogue. We did the scans. We did the surgeries. We did everything we knew we had to do with the information we had at the time, Cruz performing a craniotomy so beautiful the neuro-gods themselves would have weeped had they seen it, and this kid lived through it all. I passed him off to the ICU staff because he's not a pediatric, but Cruz stayed on as Neuro. He seemed to doing well under the circumstances. He was responding to stimuli during every neurocheck, so there was brain function. He was urinating, so there was body functions. He was beating every odd there was against him. The only thing was he wouldn't wake up, and that was due to the swelling of his brain. Cruz was confident though, in that once it went down, Shun would wake up. There would be no way to know what if any lasting damage he would have from it, but there was hope for him. What no one could have known at the time, was it was that beautiful craniotomy that would be what ended up killing him.

"This morning, he wasn't responding to anything. Even the most painful stimuli we do to coma patients wasn't doing anything. He was taken down for new scans, and that's when it was discovered. The kid had a brain bleed that was hidden by the swelling that had gone undiagnosed, therefore untreated, since the collision. It was the pressure of the brain against the skull that was keeping the bleeding to a minimum, but it was also the swelling that hid it.

"Cruz ordered an emergency EEG and it showed no brain function. He had to then start the process of declaring brain death because there was absolutely nothing he could do. There had never, at any point, been anything he could do. Like I said, no one survives those injuries. One of them was going to be the reason he died." Lifting the cuff of his white coat, Suikotsu sighed. "Now, the poor kid is just about out of time on the death clock."

During Suikotsu's recount, Bankotsu had pulled himself up to sit on the exam table, and had his fingers wrapped around the edge. When his brother was done, Bankotsu's head tilted slightly. "Death clock?"

Pressing his fingertips into his temple, Suikotsu nodded as he tsked. "At least six hours have to pass after discovery of no brain function before we can delcare legal brain death. It takes two specialized neuro tests, six hours apart, with the same results. Any variation whatsoever restarts it once another EEG confirms zero function. Once brain death is called, the family is then told, and they make their decision when to turn off the life support their loved one will never come off of. It's horrible trying to explain to family members their son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, or father are not going to wake up; that the only thing keeping their hearts beating is a machine. If it's bad for us, I don't ever want to know what it's like on the other side, and as bad as it sounds, it makes me glad Mom and Dad died on impact." Then he looked at Bankotsu with a serious look. "He's in the fourth floor ICU. If you hurry, you might get there in time to say goodbye to your friend."

Clearing his throat with a rough cough at the mention of how their parents died, Bankotsu shook his head. "He's not my friend." Turning his eyes to his brother, "I've never even met him."

Brows drawing down, Suikotsu's lip curled high. "Then what the fuck, Bank?"

Scrubbing his face with his hands, be then rubbed his palms together before crossing his arms. "He's been Kagome's friend for twenty years."

It was like Suikotsu melted in his chair as he stared at Bankotsu for a moment before he groaned, closing his eyes, dropping his arms to hang over the side, and propped his head back on the wall behind him. "Christ." Opening his eyes, he slanted them to Bankotsu. "He's only twenty-two."

Bankotsu just shrugged a little, having nothing to say back to that.

After a moment of silence between them, Suikotsu slapped his hands against his knees and hoisted himself to his feet. "Come on, Bank. I'll walk you up."

Bankotsu just shook his head as he hopped off the bed. "She doesn't even know I'm here."

Smiling at his little brother, he then clamped his hand on Bankotsu's shoulder. "But you are here." Giving him a meaningful look, he opened the door with his free hand and shoved Bankotsu back into the hall. Keeping his hold on his brother until he did what he wanted him to, Suikotsu slipped his hands into his pockets and looked down at his brother. "Out of curiosity... if Kagome isn't talking to you right now, how did you know about Shun? We don't have to involve Ginkotsu for your legal protection do we, you little stalker?"

Bankotsu shook his head as he slipped his own hands into his pockets. "No, nothing like that. Another one of her friends called and told me."

Filing away a reminder to have a word with their brother over whether or not Bankotsu was crossing any legal lines, Suikotsu nodded just the same to the explanation. "Have you figured out what you're going to say when you see her?"

Looking at the floor, Bankotsu made a face and shook his head. "Not a clue."

Turned out, Suikotsu was wrong, and by the time they finished their conversation and made the trek from the pediatrics surgical wing to the other side of the hospital, Ginta had his last neurocheck, been pronounced brain dead, removed from life supports, and had time of death announced. Ginta's mother had held off having the second check done until Kagome arrived, and everything happened very quickly after she gave Dr. Cruz the go ahead.

Before Suikotsu could do more than open the door to the ICU waiting room, Kouga was throwing open the set that led to the patient rooms, tears blocking his vision he refused to allow to fall, and Kagome was hot on his heals, calling after him to wait.

Ducking under his still outstretched arm, Kagome blocked his path, holding her own arms out as she held off her own tears. "Where do you think you're going?"

Kouga, his voice louder than he ever spoke to her, yelled in her face as he pointed to some place behind her head. "I'm gonna go find the son of a bitch that killed my cousin."

Kagome, not knowing people were witnesses to this, shook her head. "No, you're not. You need to calm down."

It was like his mouth wasn't his, the sneer settling on his lips something in his right mind wouldn't be given to her. Kouga also would have never snapped at her, either. "Oh, fuck you and your calm down."

There was no conceivable time span between Kouga's words and the palm of Kagome's hand cracking across Kouga's cheek. Glare set firmly place, her voice shook with the tears in her own eyes as she spoke. "You don't get to talk to me like that. I lost him, too."

Kouga squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his lips tightly together as he used the sting on his face to ground himself, using it as something else to focus on for just a moment. His breathing was hard through his nose, his hands fisted at his sides. Lowering his head, he licked his lips, a thick swallow nearly choked him when it got stuck in his throat. Slowly, he shook his head, his teeth showing from behind slightly pulled back lips. "I know, I... I'm..."

Kagome watched as his hands came up, threading into his hair as a tear broke from his eye. Reaching up herself, she wrapped her arms tight around his neck, pulling him down to her level and squeezing, holding him tighter when his arms wrapped around her waist, his body shaking with the effort he was putting into not breaking down. She was on her toes because she was short than he was, but she just closed her own eyes, waiting for him to pull back.

Burying his face in Kagome's neck, Kouga actually pulled her closer, selfish enough in that moment to soak up every ounce of comfort she had to offer.

Caught off guard, Kagome actually let out a gruff grunt when Kouga's knees bent, taking them both the floor, she she shook off the pain in her knees from how hard she hit as best she could. Instead, she whispered in his ear the same empty words he told her when her grandfather died. She never understood why people lied about things being okay when they were forever changed, but that didn't stop her from making quiet shushing noises and telling him it would be alright.

It took several minutes before she realized he wasn't letting her go anytime soon, so instead, she slowly loosened her grip on him, sliding her hands along his shoulders until they were in position to push him back enough to look at him. Biting into the skin of her lip, she waited until Kouga opened his eyes, locking hers on them when he did so.

Clearing her voice, she ran the tip of her tongue along her upper lip before she spoke. "You want to get drunk, don't you?" She wasn't surprised when he nodded, and she did so in return. "Okay, that's fine. Um..." Looking over his shoulder for a moment, she then looked back at him. "I'm going to go check on Mama Shun and Hakkaku. Stay here, okay? I'll be right back."

Before she went back to Ginta's room, she picked Kouga up off the floor and set him in a chair, but didn't take long. She offered to take Hakkaku too, but he declined, opting to stay with his mother for as long as she wanted to stay with Ginta, and told her he would make sure Ayame got home safe.

It wasn't until she walked back in the waiting room she saw Bankotsu, Suikotsu leaving him there alone when he was paged. They looked at each other for a moment before she worked up the nerve to go over to him. Stopping first to tell Kouga she would be right back, she played with her fingers as she walked across the room, looking at the floor as she did so.

Bankotsu gave her all the time she needed, just leaning against the wall with his arms loosely crossed over his chest. He could see she was toeing the line of the same breakdown Kouga just had, but he didn't say anything as she lifted her eyes to look at him. He just looked back, a soft expression on his face.

Kagome, a knot in her gut, glanced away before she sighed, looking back at him. "Sango?" That was the only explanation because that was where she left her phone. When he gave her one languish nod, she let out a breath as she shook her head. "I... I don't know what to say, but, um..." Slipping her fingers into her hair and scratching at her scalp, she gave a helpless shrug, lowering her head and looking back at the floor.

Bankotsu, however, uncrossed his arms, used one hand to crook a finger under her chin, lifting it back up and looking her in the eyes when she allowed him to. His voice was as soft as his expression. "I'm sorry about your friend."

Pressing her lips together, she forced half of them to turn upwards as high as she could, but really, it just looked like a grimace. "Thank you." Lowering her eyes again for a second, she flicked them back to his. "I'm sorry, Bankotsu." Pulling her chin free, she turned her head to face the wall, not sure she could look at him as she said what came to mind. "I shouldn't have avoided you like did, I just... I..."

Bankotsu shook his head, cutting in when she started tripping over her words. "Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out later. For now, are you alright?"

Kagome just shrugged. "I'm trying to be. Kouga needs me to be strong for him more than I need to cry."

Lips puckering, Bankotsu nodded slowly as he made a noise in his throat. "Uh huh. So... while you're taking care of him, who's taking care of you?"

Shaking her head, Kagome crossed her arms. "That's not fair. Ginta was his family."

Bankotsu clicked his tongue. "From what I was told, he may as well have been yours, too, but Baby Girl, that's not what I meant. I apologize if that's how it sounded, but I really didn't mean any disrespect. I guess what I should have said was, if you're giving your strength to him, who's giving theirs to you?" When she shook her head slowly and lifted her shoulders slightly, Bankotsu shifted his eyes from her to Kouga, seeing him sitting where she left him, sitting in a chair with his head in his hands.

After a moment, he sighed to himself and looked back at Kagome. From what he saw before, Sango was right about the two of them being a package deal, so if he was going to take care of Kagome, he would have to swallow the fact he would have to deal with Kouga as well.

Licking his lips, he set his hands on Kagome's hips, actually somewhat surprised when she didn't move away. "Why don't you two come to my house tonight?" Watching her blink, he clicked his tongue. "I heard you ask him if he wanted to get drunk, I saw him nod, so I know that's your plan. But, you're both upset and alcohol isn't going to lead to anything but a bar fight if someone says the wrong thing. I lived through this with my brothers when my parents died. At my place, you two can drink as much as you want, he can fuck up whatever he wants, I really don't care. Just..." tightening his fingers, "...don't make me worry about you tonight."

Her face was almost a cringe as she looked over her shoulder at Kouga, already shaking her head as she turned back. "I don't know, Bankotsu."

Not above begging, Bankotsu released her hips and cupped her face with both hands, locking their eyes. "Please, Pretty Girl. Go get your friend and come home with me tonight." He watched as her thoughts flashed through her deep eyes, and knew when she made her decision.

With short, fast nods with her jaw still in his hands, Kagome acquiesced to the request. "Alright, as long as you're sure about this."

Leaning closer to her, Bankotsu lowered his voice. "I have never been more sure about anything in my entire life." Holding her eyes for a moment longer, hoping she caught the double meaning in his words, he pressed his lips to her forehead and let her go, watching as she went back over to Kouga to try and convince him Bankotsu's plan was good idea.

Kouga, cutting his eyes to the man, narrowed them slightly before looking back at Kagome. "I still don't like him."

Lifting a brow, Kagome tsked. "Why, exactly?"

Kouga, lowering his voice, whispered in her ear. "Because he's not good enough for you." Pulling back, he saw her flat expression and sighed. "But... if you like him, I suppose I can give him a chance."

Smiling slightly, Kagome stood up, grabbed his wrists, and pulled Kouga to his feet. "He's giving you free liquor. That should be reason enough to give him a chance."

Shaking his head as he tossed his arm around Kagome's shoulder, he pulled her into his side. "No... that's the reason I don't hate him."

Rolling her eyes, she leaned her head against the side of his chest. "I'll take it."


	10. Chapter 10

Walking into Bankotsu's house behind him and Kagome, Kouga barely bit back the whistle of appreciation at the sight. From the clean lines to the dark wood accents, it was, even to him, a beautiful home. There was a short hall created by the second floor balcony before the entire house opened up to the open great room and kitchen, separated by an island with a black and grey marbled counter large enough to fit eight. To the other side of the great room, there was another arched opening, that as Bankotsu was giving a pointed tour, indicated that's where the downstairs bathroom and two guest rooms where.

The bottom of the staircase was located on the kitchen side, and was something of a woodwork master piece where it curved to a balcony that overlooked and surrounded the entire first floor. Going left would lead to a catwalk that went along the front of the house. Again, on the pointing tour, Kouga learned what Kagome did when she woke up there. There wasn't a standalone bathroom on the second floor, only the one in Bankotsu's bedroom, which was over the downstairs bedrooms. The only other door on the second floor you had to pass to get to his room, which was his home office.

Every lighting fixture in the place hung from the vaulted ceilings, except the line of recessed lights over the counter in the kitchen where the appliances and sink were, and that's because that's where the second floor walkway was. The kitchen itself was done in the same dark tones as the rest of the wooden accents, stainless steel appliances, and the back counter was the same as the island. The island was massive, and looked to Kouga like a solid piece of stone. Between the refrigerator and the back wall was teared counter that looked much like a bar's back display counter with about as much selection as one as well, under which held two glass faced mini fridges; one filled with chilled wine and the other an actual mini fridge with juices and sodas.

The most striking thing about the place, however, was the completely open back wall, which was nothing but windows on top, and sliding glass doors on the bottom. Those doors led to a fully customized, multi level deck with an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, hot tub, and a swimming pool. It was clearly designed with entertainment in mind, and even Kouga, though loathed to do it, had to admit, it was pretty damn spectacular.

However, that didn't mean he wasn't gonna fuck with the man. Crossing his arms, Kouga gave the inside another glance and looked at the back of Bankotsu's head as he was opening the blinds on the back wall. "Nice place."

Unsure at the moment if he was being sincere or a cynical asshole, Bankotsu decided to err on the caution and nodded his head in thanks as he pushed open the sliding doors. "It is now. You should have seen it when I bought it. This place was a fucking dump."

The words were out of Kouga's mouth before he really put a lot of thought into them. "By whose standards, Richie Rich?"

Not even the rather hard jab to Kouga's ribs by Kagome's elbow was enough to placate Bankotsu. He knew the man was on an emotional roller coaster at the moment, but that didn't mean he was going to put up with Kouga's bullshit, _especially_ in his own damn house. Turning to look at him, Bankotsu crossed his arms, licked his lips, and clicked his tongue. "Have I personally offended you, or is it just my interest in her that make you oh so charming?"

When Kouga went to make some snarky comment back, Kagome stomped on his foot. Glaring up at him with he yelped, she shook her head. "You promised."

Looking down at Kagome, Kouga considered his options for a moment. No, he actually hadn't, but knowing she would hurt herself trying to hurt him if he did overstep in some way, he sighed and looked back at Bankotsu. "No."

Sniffing at him, Bankotsu leveled him with a flat look. "Then, how about, instead of taking unnecessary shots at me, you make yourself a drink, have a seat, and shut the hell up about my bank account?"

This time, Kouga would not be stopped. "I do have one with your brother, though."

Bankotsu just shrugged as he went back to what he had been doing. "That would be two of us. Perhaps," looking over his shoulder, "it'll help to hear I broke several of Kyokotsu's bones over what he did yesterday."

Blinking at the latter part of the statement, Kouga hummed. "It kinda does, actually."

Looking at the guy with crinkled eyes and a sarcastic expression, Bankotsu's voice went flat. "Super." Latching the sliding doors into their holding cabinet, Bankotsu turned and looked back Kouga and Kagome, crossing his arms. "Make yourselves at home. I'll be in my office if you need anything."

Kagome, who other than jabbing Kouga in the ribs stayed out of things, looked at Bankotsu as walked past her and headed for the stairs. "You're not staying down here?"

Setting his hand on the railing, he looked at her with a small smile as he shook his head. "I'll be back. I just have some work to do I've been ignoring for two weeks."

Kouga, who had went over to the bar and just grabbed a bottle of something without looking, again spoke without thinking it through. "Must be nice."

Very slowly, both Kagome and Bankotsu turned to look at Kouga, who looked the other way with a pinched expression. He didn't say anything else, Kagome shook her head with parted lips, and Bankotsu scoffed out a 'not worth it', as he continued his way up the stairs.

Pausing before he reached his office, Bankotsu clicked the back of his tongue. Deciding to attempt this 'being the bigger person' thing Jakotsu had been trying to bash into his skull for the last decade, Bankotsu looked back to the first floor, watching as Kagome leaned on the island, her chin on her fists. But, shifting his eyes to Kouga, he tilted his head from one side to the other before calling down to Kouga. "I you have my condolences, Kouga."

Flicking his eyes to look up at the man through his lashes, Kouga took a deep breath through his nose, letting it out slowly. Not as all to the shock of Kagome, but certainly to her displeasure, he didn't kept the snark in his eyes out of his voice. "I don't want your pity."

Genuinely shocked at the statement, Bankotsu jolted. "Pity?" Curling his tongue, he folded his arms on the railing, cocking his head to the side. "You think I pity you? Because you lost someone close to you?" Shaking his head as he changed his position to hold the railing, he let out a sardonic chuckle. "Look, if you want to fight, fine; I have no problem kicking your ass, but before I do, let me ask you something... are your parents alive?" When Kouga remained silent, he glanced at Kagome, who gave a sharp, shallow nod, and Bankotsu snorted. "My condolences were sincere. Accept them or not, I don't care, but there is a marginal difference between sympathy and pity, you little creaton. Learn it before you open your mouth and spit your bullshit to someone you don't know a damn thing about."

When Kouga went to open his mouth again, be was cut off by a quiet, but forceful, 'don't you dare'. Instead, he looked at Kagome, who had dropped her head from her fists to resting her forehead on the counter, her fingers laced behind her head. By the time he looked back to the balcony, Bankotsu was gone, and he grunted with a shake of his head.

Kagome, sniffling slightly, slowly picked her head up, turning it slightly and looking at Kouga with drawn features. "You said you were going to give him a chance."

Looking at her as he cracked open the bottle in his hands, Kouga shrugged. "That's exactly what I'm doing. If he'll back down from me, he'll back down from anyone."

Jaw dropping, Kagome made a strangled kind of noise. "That... isn't the topic to push him on, Kouga, and this certainly isn't the time to do it. He's trying to be nice, but all you've done since we left the hospital is poke at every button you can find. I know you're upset, but what the fuck?"

Going straight to getting fucked up, Kouga just took a pull from the bottle, grunting at the burn as it made its way down his throat and into his belly. Wincing it away, he set the bottle back on the counter and looked at Kagome, lowering his voice. "Kagome, when have you ever known me not to push buttons?" Lifting a brow, he grinned at her. "When I stop being inappropriate, then you can call me out for not giving him a chance or whatever. But, for now..." Slowly, he slid the bottle toward her, raising his brow.

There was no way on God's green Earth she was drinking anything straight after the way she felt after taking all those shots of straight liquor less than a week ago. She was positive her liver would kill her for it, so instead, she got herself a glass, grabbed the bottle of cranberry juice, and made a pretty easy drink to start with. She also set a rocks glass in front of Kouga, giving him a look that said he better use it.

Nothing if not indulgent to her, even though he rolled his eyes, Kouga did use it.

Migrating outside to the deck, they were just going to stay at the table just outside and to the left of the door, but when Kouga saw the fire pit, that was where he headed instead. It was only about 3:30 in the afternoon, and it certainly wasn't cold outside, but he has always found something extremely comforting about sitting around a fire. He always had, even as a kid, and it didn't take him but a couple of minutes to have one going.

The firepit wasn't at ground level, but there was only about five inches before you stepped down into the grass, and that tier was more like being at the beach than on a deck. The pit itself was clearly sunken down on the ground, and built up from there. Unlike the treated wood you walked on over rest of the, this part was covered in soft sand. The chairs were just low sitting beach chairs, making them the perfect height to be able to dig your feet into the sand.

Which is exactly what Kouga did, because why not, as he took in the rest of the backyard. There were houses to both sides, but he didn't know whether or not he had neighbors, and you couldn't actually see into the next yard, or really even see the houses themselves due an eight foot solid privacy fence that surrounded the whole yard, that was also mostly hidden by some masterful fucking landscaping.

If he had to guess, he would say yard was about twice as long as it was wide, and was almost all grass and damn near perfectly flat. The least extravagant thing about, actually, the entire property, house included, Kouga had seen since he walked in the front door was the pool that was situated to the left. It was a basic rectangle, and didn't look any deeper that about six feet at the deepest. It was long, yeah, but if someone was going to sink the kind of money this guy did into the yard, he certainly skimped on that feature.

"He hasn't gotten to it yet."

Kouga, blinking slightly, looked at Kagome, who had a small smile her lips, but her eyes were alight with humor. "What?"

Kagome giggled slightly and nodded to the pool. "That, he hasn't gotten to it yet." When Kouga cocked a brow at her, she leaned back in her seat. "I saw you face when you were looking at the pool. When I was here yesterday morning and he was showing me around, I asked about it. He said it was functional as is, and he was more concerned about getting the inside and deck done. He bought the place last year, but only moved in a couple of months ago. He said when he does redo the pool, all he's doing is having the far end deepened so he can put in a diving board and the have whole thing relined because there are cracks."

Lip curling, Kouga cocked his head. "So, you gave me shit for talking to him like I did, but you just... up and asked why his pool was shit compared to everything else?"

Scratching her temple, Kagome cleared her throat. "Well, no; not exactly. It was more like... Oh, my God, you have a pool. And he was like... oh my God, it's a fucking eyesore, but I don't live in a pool, so the house was more important." Then she shrugged. "From what he told me, I guess the people who lived here before him destroyed the place between when Bankotsu viewed it and when he was given the keys. Took something like ten months before he could actually move in."

Lips pursed and pressed together, Kouga snorted softly. "That's fucked up." He might not have like the fact the guy was interested in what amounted to his little sister, but still, that was fucked up.

"Wasn't all bad."

Both Kagome and Kouga jumped at the abrupt appearance of the voice above their heads, and it was Kouga that found his tongue first as he craned his neck to look up at Bankotsu. "Wear a fucking bell or something, Jesus."

Bankotsu just grinned as he chuckled in the back of his throat. "No." Then, he looked at Kouga. "Told you it was a dump. Now, I'm not saying it was awesome walking into what I did when I dropped by later in the day when I got the keys, because it certainly wasn't, but it turned out alright. As a matter of fact, the assholes did just an amazing job at the demolition, it allowed me to change around the floorplan to what it is now. It was a single story at the time, but since they were nice enough to bring down the ceiling and damage the roof joists, I was able to add the second floor."

Kouga shook his head. "I would have taken them to court, personally."

Bankotsu popped a shoulder. "No legal ground to do so. Technically speaking, anyway. They were the legal owners of the house at the time they did it, and you're allowed to do whatever you want to your own home. Since I intended to do updates anyway, my offer on the place had no inspection clause. I only looked at it once before I put in an offer, so the next time I saw it six weeks later, it was destroyed. In a situation like that, you have two choices; either let it piss you completely off, or use it to your advantage. Since I had to replace the roof anyway, I turned it into a four bedroom two bathroom from the two bedroom one bathroom it was. Perspective and all that."

Kagome was the one to ask the next question. "Why would they do that when they decided to sell their house?"

Again, Bankotsu shrugged. "I wondered the same thing until I found out what the fuck was going on after the fact. _They_ didn't. The house was built like twenty-five years ago, or something like it, and at the time, it was the only house here. As more houses were built, the property taxes went up, and they stopped paying them. Eventually, they owed more in taxes than the house was worth in this area. They made a deal with the bank, which is who I bought the place from, to wipe out the tax debt if they surrendered the house. Since they owned the building itself at the time, they were allowed to say until it was bought. I said on my way out I wanted it, and between the time I left and the bank accepted my offer, they had a little bit of a hissy fit. I mean, they owned the place, so they could have said no to the bank and moved the house to somewhere else, but... eh. In the end, it just wasn't worth it since I couldn't prove any damage was done after I signed the paperwork. I certainly wouldn't have taken ownership of it if I knew the circumstances at the time. I would have just given them the keys."

Kouga just shook his head, the amount of vodka he had showing itself. "Well, you could have certainly afforded it."

Though his expression leveled, Bankotsu humphed. "Many more than several times over." Clearing his throat, he propped his chin on his knuckles. "Anyway, I just got off the phone with Yura. Apparently, my presence was requested at Shikon for a couple of hours tonight, though she refused to tell me why."

Kouga and Kagome looked at each other for a moment after the statement before Kagome looked back up at Bankotsu. "Did you want us to leave?"

To both their shock, the corners of Bankotsu's lips turned down and he shook his head. "You two are welcome to stay; I don't care. Besides, the amount of alcohol missing from that brand new bottle of vodka sitting on my kitchen counter says neither one of you are driving anywhere. No, I was simply going ask if you two wanted to go with me."

There was nearly a look of horror on Kagome's face as the few memories she was able to regain from the last time she was there flashed through her mind. Shaking her head, she grunted. "I don't know about that."

Kouga was quick to agree. "Yeah, and I thought the whole reason we were here was to avoid going to a bar."

Though Bankotsu nodded, he also clarified. "Avoiding a rundown shack that happens to serve alcohol while not paying a damn bit of attention to how much someone is drinking, yes that was the point. Alcohol poisoning is a thing, and it sucks... trust me. In this case, it's two hours, tops, and unless..." grinning at Kagome, "...you're super hot wearing a super short skirt," winking at her before she could look away, he finished the sentence looking at Kouga. "The chances of getting served at the Shikon to that point in two hours are less than nothing. Now, that's not to say Doshi won't get you fucked up, because he certainly will, but he also won't send you to the hospital while he's at it."

Clearing the blush in her voice from his comment about her looks and the dress she wore when she was there, Kagome rubbed her arm. "You said it was because of bar fights."

Bankotsu looked at her, her favorite smirk pulling at his lips. "That shit doesn't happen there. The bouncers will beat the shit out of you before you can throw that first punch. That said, I'll make arrangements for you to hang out in the lounge upstairs if you don't want to be around the crowd downstairs. Or, like I said, you are perfectly welcome to stay here. It really doesn't matter."

Biting into her bottom lip, Kagome grunted before she looked at Kouga, who was looking back at her with a raised brow. She considered the offer for a time, knowing it would mean having to call Sango and hope she would make the trip to the shrine to pick up her dress and boots and then have to make the nearly hour drive across the city to bring them to her. She needed to call her anyway to get her phone back, and honestly, thinking about it that way, it sounded like one hell of a hassle. After another moment though, she shrugged. "It's up to you."

At the phrase, Kouga actually felt his eye twitch. It wasn't the offer, as surprising as it was, it was the place. He knew what the Shikon was, and he wasn't really in the mood to go to a club. Then again, an invite to that place wasn't exactly something you turned down.

Something then occurred to her, and Kagome's lip curled. "Neither one of us have anything to wear."

Humming in his throat, Bankotsu glanced at Kouga for a moment, actually sizing him up. "Jeans are fine." Then he looked back at Kagome. "As for you..." he smirked at her again. "You'll be with me, so it doesn't fucking matter." Chuckling at her she averted her eyes, he shook his head. "The formal dress code is only enforced three days a week, and Wednesday isn't one of them. It's a weekend thing when it's busy or if there's a private party or something to that effect. It's a completely different atmosphere earlier in the week. But mostly..." waiting for her to look back at him, "...no one will say shit because you'll be arriving with me." Then, he clicked his tongue. "Tell you what; the club doesn't even open for another two and a half hours, so think about it and let me know."

Both Kouga and Kagome nodded, but neither one, at that moment, knew what their decision would end up leading to.


	11. Chapter 11

"Well, he was right. This place is a lot different than the last time I was here."

Looking around the first floor, Kagome let her eyes take it in. The biggest difference between this time and last time was it wasn't nearly as dark, and the second was it wasn't nearly as loud. Though, she guessed it was because there weren't a million bodies present, since it was only a quarter past 6, and most people were either out to dinner or just getting off work. She wondered briefly if that would change as it got later, but also decided not to linger on the thought, because they weren't going to be there much past 8.

Kouga, on the other hand, having never been there before, saw it slightly differently than Kagome did. He saw the overstuffed furniture, the black velvet coverings for the walls, and the multicolored sheers that were draped about the ceiling to tone down the harsh lighting. It was certainly not a place he would have gone on his own, but seeing it in person, he knew it would be a place Ayame would love to go, and he actually started making plans in the back of his mind on how he could make that happen.

The pair had taken up a set of bar stools at the furthest end they could to be as unobtrusive as they could be while Bankotsu was upstairs trying to figure out what he was even doing there. Neither one knew he had stopped Doshi on his way to the bar, had enlightened him of the happenings of the day, and told the bartender they two were drinking on him that night. Doshi didn't take Kagome's card when she handed it to him, and had no intention of asking for it later. He would do as he always did when someone else was paying without the person knowing and give her a bogus receipt to sign if she remembered to close her tab.

Since there was so few people present, Doshi actually just stayed at that end of the bar, keeping a steady, but monitored, flow of alcohol going. Also, much to Kagome's horror, and Kouga's amusement, asked her all kinds of questions about her last time at the club, finding as much humor in her trying to talk herself out of the blackout drunk corner as Kouga did. In all truthfulness, she had actually been very well behaved compared to how she could have gotten. On average, he cut ten people off every Saturday, and she was one of the very few and far between that didn't get pissed off about it.

It was 6:45 before the next person came up to the bar, and when Doshi excused himself, he froze with a blink when he saw who it was that was snapping her bony little fingers at him. Shifting his eyes to Kagome, he cringed internally as he walked away. This wasn't going to end well for someone; he just wasn't sure who that someone was going to be. Snagging his phone, he played with it as he approached Kagura, sending Bankotsu a warning message, before slipping his phone into his pocket and gave a bullshit grin to the girl as he folded his arms on the bartop. "You got balls for a chick."

Scoffing under her breath, Kagura rolled her eyes at the man. "Just get me a drink."

Head tilting ever so slightly to the side, Hakudoshi raised a brow until it hid behind his white hair, his lavender eyes locking on Kagura's contact colored red ones, and waited, not moving a muscle. It took her nearly two minutes, and though there was a large level of attitude with it, Kouga huffed out a 'please', making him grin wider. Stepping back, he grabbed down a stemmed glass, opened the wine cooler and snagged a bottle of red, and poured her drink. "$7.50."

Looking absolutely affronted, Kagura's lip curled. "Open a tab." She had plans for that night, and none of them involved actually paying for her drinks.

Corking the bottle, Doshi wasn't even slightly phased by her. "Give me a card."

Attempting to grab the wine glass, and finding Doshi holding it so she couldn't, she sighed. "We used to be friends. Don't you trust me?"

There was no part of him that showed any interest in rehashing the past as he shook his head. "Not in the slightest. Cash, card, or get out."

Eyes narrowing and crinkling in the corners, Kagura sneered as she pulled her debit card from her barely there tank top, slamming it down on the bar and lowering her voice to something that wasn't even close to being threatening. "I'll make you regret talking to me like that."

Propping his chin on his fisted knuckles, Doshi smirked. "Can't wait, Sugartits." Then, he puckered his lips in a sarcastically blown kiss, snickering as she huffed, grabbed her drink, and walked away. However, the heels she was wearing made it look like she was walking with a stick up her ass, but since Doshi did actually know her, her knew that wasn't actually the heels, and there were likely several things shoved up there.

Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, he pulled it out, glancing at the screen and seeing he had a return message from Bankotsu. Glancing down the bar to the girl his buddy was actually interested in, he opened the text and grinned wide. "Well, tonight just got interesting."

This was one of the things Doshi loved about Bankotsu; he didn't play games, and while he appreciated the heads up, he wasn't interested in keeping the two girls apart. Doshi had gotten a bullet point play by play of what went down the day before when he texted Bankotsu, asking if he was alright since he wasn't at the staff meeting held every Tuesday before the club opened, so he had some idea of what was going on. However, because of Kyokotsu, Kagome knew there was a Kagura, and hiding it, according to Bankotsu, wouldn't lead to anything good. He hadn't known she would be there when he agreed to stop by the club, and he wasn't going to let the little whore do anything else to try and ruin his life like she did before.

Looking at Kagome, Doshi cocked his head, wondering how she was going to take the situation. She just lost a very good friend she had known literally all her life, and from what he saw Saturday, she did really like Bankotsu. To see his barely dressed past come knocking... all he could think was that night was going to be interesting.

Upstairs in the office, Bankotsu slipped his phone into his pocket after he responded to Doshi, and crossed his arms. "I'm only going to ask this shit once. Do you know Kagura Setsu?"

Yura, looking into Bankotsu's now dark blue eyes, debated answering that for a moment before she nodded in shallow movements. "She's friends with my husband's sister."

Making a face, Bankotsu's shoulders tightened. "When the two of you were conspiring, did she happen to mention what the fuck she put me through?"

Again, though it was with a pained face, Yura nodded. "And she said she was really sorry about it."

Bankotsu snorted hard. "I bet she is."

Shaking her head, Yura tried to smooth things over so he would talk to her. "All she wants to do is talk to you, and I don't think it's too much ask of you to hear her out. You owe her that much."

Brows shooting behind his bangs, Bankotsu was actually struck dumb for a moment, tripping over his tongue as he tried to find the words to respond to that. "I... I owe... I beg your fucking pardon, but I don't owe her shit. See, you and I? We aren't friends, we're business partners. One business partner doesn't get to tell another one what they owe to anyone. Wanna talk about what's owed to someone? Let's talk about the near six hundred grand you owe me. If you wanna talk about what I owe to some two-bit tramp, pay me back and then we'll see where we stand. Until then, you don't get to tell me what I owe someone else."

Yura, huffing as she crossed her arms, licked her lips. "You broke her heart."

Bankotsu raised his voice. "She put me in jail. We're even."

"It was five years ago."

It was then Bankotsu's turn to scoff. "I could say the same fucking thing."

Falling silent, having no real response back to that because it was true, Yura slouched in her head and scratched between her eyes for a moment. Since he didn't say anything about how he felt when he broke up with her, she decided to start there. Since he didn't say she broke his heart too, there was a chance he still cared about her. "She made the trip all the way from Osaka just to see you, Bank, and you won't even talk to her? Hear what she has to say?"

Face flushing and turning into a mask of pure disgust, Bankotsu actually sneered at the woman. "Hell. No. The only thing I want to do when it comes to her is put her ass on another plane and send her to the other side of the fucking planet, and that would still be too close for my tastes. You tell her that, because I'm going home." Pausing as he set his hand on the knob to the office door, he turned and looked back and the now sulking female. "And my name is Bankotsu. You are not family, we are not friends, and you don't put my cock in your mouth. Do not _ever_ call me 'Bank' again."

Having gotten very good at compartmentalizing his emotions, by the time Bankotsu slammed the door behind him, his current anger was shoved back to allow him to look like he hadn't a care in the world, though under the surface he was still seething.

Bounding down the steps, he let his eyes roam the room, judging how much time he had to speak with Kagome by where his ex was located in the club. When his feet touched the floor, it hadn't looked like she had seen him yet, so taking the gift for what it was, he turned himself to the bar and walk as a normal pace down the line of stools to where Kagome and Kouga sat.

Angling his body to face her, he leaning on the bar with his forearm, draped his other arm across the back of her stool, and propped his foot on the iron rod that surrounded the bottom of the bar. He smiled at her when she looked at him, her eyes showing the alcohol she had ingested while she was waiting for him. It hurt, but he knew it was better to lay it out now than it was to wait for it to blow up, so with in mind, he tsked. "I found out why I asked to come in tonight, and it wasn't for a recap of the meeting I missed like I thought."

Brows drawing down at the way his voice sounded, Kagome picked up her glass, taking the straw in her fingers, and brought it to her lips, speaking before she took her drink. "What was it, then? Everything alright?"

Sighing as he ran a hand down his face, Bankotsu shook his head slightly. "No, it's not." Dropping his arm back across the back of her stool, he glanced at Kouga for a moment before he looked back at Kagome, wondering just what was about to happen. "As it turns out, Yura knows my ex Kyokotsu told you about."

Kagome choked on her drink and Kouga glared at the man. He saw where this was going, and decided to force him to get straight to it. "And she's fucking here, isn't she?"

Cutting his eyes to Kouga, Bankotsu gave a short nod. "And wants to," bringing both hands up, he made quotation marks with his fingers, "talk." Grunting as his lip curled, he then shook his head as he looked at Kagome, who was looking back at him with a questioning expression. "Look, I'll tell you every last detail later if you want to hear it, but the way the relationship ended? Let me put it this way... the last time I saw her, I was in handcuffs facing assault charges after a fight we had when I found out she was cheating on me. Told her to get her shit and get out. I left and she called her brother to come over, had him hit her a couple of times, leave, then turned around, called the police and said I did it. My neighbors in my apartment building heard the fight, which I didn't deny happened. The only thing that saved my ass was the fact my webcam was on from when I was having a video conference, so Naraku roughing her up was caught on tape. Otherwise, I would probably still be in jail right now. Also, while I was sitting in jail, she filed some bullshit emotional abuse suit against me... something to the tune of like... two and a half million dollars, saying it was for her pain and suffering; though according to our family attorney, she was perfectly willing to settle out of court for half that."

Kagome was in no way a vindictive person. She didn't see a reason for it, but in that moment, her blood ran hot with it. Turning her head, she looked at Kouga for a moment, him seeing a spark in her eyes he had never seen before, before she turned back to Bankotsu. Maybe it was because she was drunk, and paired with also being upset because of Ginta, but when she spoke, there was a level of maliciousness she'd never used before. "I don't... need to know more than that." Finishing her drink, she licked her lips as she looked at the glass, cutting her eyes to Bankotsu. "So, what's the plan from here?"

Jolting slightly, Bankotsu looked at Kouga, who shrugged at the out of character question, before he looked back at Kagome. "Leaving." When her bottom lip poked out in a pout, Bankotsu chuckled with her smirk on his lips as he leaned closer to her, lowering his voice, and whispering in her ear. "I told you alcohol mixed with heartbreak only leads to bar fights." Kissing the back of her jaw, he pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "She's not worth it, trust me. Let's go back to my place, I'll call Jakotsu to pick up some pizzas, and I don't know... have a party in your friend's name or something. You and Kouga can call whoever you want to come over."

Kagome, shocked at the offer, turned to an equally shocked Kouga, who just shrugged his shoulders to his ears. They had a silent conversation through their eyes for a long moment before Kagome turned back to Bankotsu. "We're both supposed to work tomorrow."

Shaking his head, Bankotsu clicked his tongue. "I'll make the call to Toga and tell him what happened today. I doubt he'll make either of you keep that commitment."

Biting hard into her bottom lip, Kagome turned back to Kouga, her eyes showing her indecision. To her surprise, Kouga was the one that accepted the offer first. "Ginta did like parties."

Smiling slightly, Kagome giggled. "Hey, you remember my graduation party? When he hit on the new miko in training because she wasn't dressed in the red and white garb, and when she told him, he tried to tell her how much funner life was as an unholy creature?"

Despite how much he already missed his cousin, Kouga couldn't help the bark of laughter that came out at the reminder. Dropping his face in his hands as he ugly snort-laughed, he nodded. "I thought she was gonna beat his ass."

Giggle-snorting herself, Kagome covered her mouth as her eyes shined with a sheen of tears. "She did knock him silly with that broom, though."

Tears in his own eyes, Kouga pressed the heels of his hands into his eyelids as he closed his eyes. "Yeah." Sniffing and clearing his throat, Kouga rubbed his palms together as he looked at Kagome. "He had a knot on his head for a week." Lifting one shoulder as he slid off the stool he was sitting, he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. "Deserved it, though." Looking to Doshi, he waved the leather item at him, to which he got a hand swiping at Doshi's throat in response.

Cocking a brow, he looked at Bankotsu, who shrugged as he was looking at his phone, doing as he said and texting Jakotsu about picking up pizza. "You're the one millionth customer. Congratulations." Getting a leveled looked from Kouga, Bankotsu gave it right back after he sent the text off. "What? I said congratulations. What more do you want?"

Rolling his eyes, Kouga still pulled out forty bucks and dropped it on the bar as Kagome also stood from her stool once Kouga was out of the way since Bankotsu didn't move from blocking the otherside.

Kagome, allowing herself to be pulled into Bankotsu's side with his arm around her shoulders, shook her head as the two guys bickered over her head about the paying of the bar tab. However, because she had been drinking at that point for like... four straight hours, she bit into the skin of the corner of her bottom lip, thinking an action through before she actually did it. She wasn't sure how it was going to be received because of the kind of brat she had been because of his brother, but she took the chance and bent her arm, lacing her fingers through Bankotsu's that were lazily draped in front of her shoulder.

Bankotsu, however and though he didn't stop the, for once, friendly argument over money, locked his own fingers with hers to damn well keep her hand holding his.

As they were reaching the door, back at the bar, Kagura was glaring at the backs of all three, fire in her eyes and pure anger in her voice. "Just who the fuck is that?"

Doshi, who was still leaning casually on the bar, rolled his head on his shoulders, a wide smirk on his lips. "From the looks of it, I would say that's his girlfriend. So, now that that ridiculous plan of yours was foiled, why don't you give me a card that will actually cover your drinks before I have you arrested for a crime you really did commit." No, there was no way she would actually be arrested for such a petty amount of money, but that didn't mean there wasn't other recourse he could take against the bitch.

Kagura, glaring from the corner of her eye, not knowing whether or not he was telling the truth, or how he knew there was nothing on her debit card, huffed hard as she reached into her boot and pulled out a nearly maxed out credit card, dropping it on the bar instead of putting it in Doshi's hand.

Returning her eyes to the front door, a new plan began to form in her mind on how to get Bankotsu, or more to the point his money, back. The only way to do it, though, meant she would first have to get rid of the competition.


	12. Chapter 12

Bursting into Bankotsu's room, Kagome was left just as shocked as the half naked man himself, who had gone up to change into something more comfortable than the jeans he had been wearing all day.

Feeling her mouth going dry at the hard lines and deep cuts of Bankotsu's abdomen, she cleared her throat as she was just as quickly reminded what made her haul ass to his room in the first place. "Sorry, I thought you were in you office. Can I use your bathroom? Jakotsu is in the one downstairs, he's taking forever, and I really have to pee."

Blinking, he still nodded and pointed to the only other door in his room. "Right through there."

With a breathless 'thank you', Kagome darted past him, knowing it was only going to be by the Grace of the Kami she didn't wet herself. She did try and throw the door closed behind her, but it didn't quite latch shut, but she didn't have a moment to spare. She also didn't have the time to appreciate the just how amazing the back half of Bankotsu's bedroom was.

As she ran down the long hall made by the closets to either side, she was trying to unbuckle her belt, she barely achieved that goal and got her pants undone by the time she reached the toilet. She had never put so much strain on her lower muscles before, but it seemed someone smiled down on her because she was able to sit down before those muscles gave out on her.

Letting out a groan, she closed her eyes, but opened them when she heard Bankotsu's voice calling out to her. Not even caring about, she continued to piss as she returned his call of her name. "Yeah?"

Scratching the back of his jaw, Bankotsu clicked his tongue as he glanced to his bedroom door. "What made you think I was in my office?"

It was like she had never peed once in her entire life, so much was coming out of her. "I heard something when I was passing the open door, so I thought it was you."

"And... where is everyone else?"

With another sigh as she began to feel better, she answered. "Miroku and Sango left. Ayame was tired so she and Kouga went to bed in one of the rooms and I put Hakakku to bed in the other one. Jakotsu is in the downstairs bathroom, and has been for like... fifteen minutes now, so I think he's passed out on the floor."

Lips pursing, Bankotsu hummed in the back of his throat, speaking under his breath. "That's everyone." Eyes narrowing slightly, he turned his head slightly toward to the door between him and Kagome, but didn't move his eyes from his bedroom door. "Do me a favor... stay in here for a minute."

Turning to her to where the hall was, her lip curled as she finished going to the bathroom. "Why?"

Shaking his head, he went over to his dresser, picking up the glass covered shadow box that held the scaled down replica of Banryu Kagome had gotten him for his birthday. Turning it over, he unlatched the hooks, took off the back, and plucked the knife from its display. While not easy to do, with the back of the house completely open as it was, it was possible for someone to have gotten inside since everyone was somewhere else.

Glancing back to the door, he kept his voice even as he answered. "Just... stay here. I'll be right back."

Stepping out of his room, he closed the door behind him, the blade of the dagger running the length of his forearm as he slid along the wall, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of who he could now hear in his office, but wasn't having any luck because the door wasn't completely open.

Two steps around the corner, from the corner of his eye, he saw Jakotsu emerge from under the balcony. Putting his finger to his lips when he saw his brother open his mouth, the then arced his hand over his stomach and waved his hand backwards, telling Jakotsu without words to go stand guard over the heavily pregnant woman in the house, to which Jakotsu nodded and walked backwards until he was blocking the entrance to the hallway.

Just outside his office door, he once again tried to peer inside to see who it was, but when that proved futile, he twirled the blade in his hand until it faced forward, and without any indication beforehand, slammed his shoulder into the door hard enough to make it bounce off the wall. Between the two loud noises, the intruder was caught enough off guard to jump, tripping over his own feet and fall backwards, and in the end, exposed himself.

Face flat, Bankotsu sighed hard as he walked over to his desk, set the dagger down and crossed his arms, looking down his nose at another one of his brothers who was laid out on the floor. His voice was as flat as he expression when he grunted. "I don't even feel bad for you right now. The fuck, Ginkotsu?"

Rubbing the back of his head where it bounced off the floor, Ginkotsu turned his eyes to his baby brother, who looked less than impressed at his presence. "I was looking for something."

Brow slowly rising, Bankotsu played with his tongue for a moment before he clicked it. "And... you didn't think to call before stopping by and snooping through my shit?"

Shaking the ringing from his ears, Ginkotsu pushed himself to sit up. "Figured I'd say something on the way out if I actually saw someone."

Snorting, Bankotsu rolled his eyes. "The wise thing would be to give someone a head's up before you invite yourself into their home. Now, what are you after?"

Blinking his vision clear, Ginkotsu let out a breath. "Doshi called and told me the wicked witch was back in town. I have a friend of mine looking into something, but I need your copy of the restraining order."

Drumming his fingers on his arm, Bankotsu then moved around his desk, took a seat, and opened the bottom left drawer. Thumbing through the tabs on the manila envelopes, he pulled out the one he was looking for. Opening it to double check, and closing it once he did so, he held it out to his brother. "Here you go." Leaning back in his seat when his brother took the offering, he laced his fingers over his stomach. "You could have just asked, though."

Opening the file folder himself, he thumbed through the four pages, looking for one thing, and letting out a grunt when he found it. "That explains that." Looking at Bankotsu, who was looking back at him with a blank expression, Ginkotsu sighed. "It expired this past Monday."

Lips pursing slightly, Bankotsu rolled his head on his shoulders. "And she shows up two days later. Wonderful. That's not stalker like insanity or anything." Then, his face turned thoughtful. "Then again, I haven't seen hide nor hare of her in five years, and she suddenly turns up? The temporary restraining order expiring makes sense."

His legally trained mind kicking into overdrive, Ginkotsu wracked his brain for what could be done to keep the bitch at arm's length, but there wasn't a lot without applying for another TRO. After a moment, he crossed his arms, still holding the folder in his hands. "Well, since there was a mutual third party involvement to initiate contact within 48 hours of this expiring, you do have grounds to get another one, but you'll have to cough up your address, plus your weekly schedule with the different places you go and when you'll be there so she knows where she's not allowed to go, or at least when she's not allowed to be there. Also, you would have to cut ties with the owners of Shikon due to conflict of interest on their part, but with the legally binding contract you have with them, and because of that contract you can't not go there, if she's there first... it could get very messy."

Wrinkling his nose, Bankotsu stood up and shook his head. "Not worth it. If she becomes a problem, I'll reevaluate the situation, but for now, setting everything else aside, the bitch is fucking psycho. So, if I don't have to tell her where I live, I would really rather not. Everything else was covered by making you the executor of my estate, right?"

Nodding in the affirmative, Ginkotsu agreed with that part. "Any suspicious activity, including wire transfers, large withdrawals, or uncharacteristic major purchases have to be signed off on by me, but Bankotsu, there's more to this than just money."

Bankotsu disagreed. "Not to her. Look, I can protect my own ass just fine, but it's up to you as my attorney to protect my assets and interests."

Rolling his eyes, Ginkotsu snorted. "No, that's my job as your brother. It's also my job as your brother to protect your ass in general."

Grinning at him with a chuckle, Bankotsu crossed his arms. "This is why you're my favorite."

There was a much harder snort from Ginkotsu at the statement. "Bullshit. That's Jakotsu and we all know it."

Snickering as he dropped his arms, Bankotsu headed for the door, his brother right behind him. "True, but you're a very close second." Being reminded of Jakotsu, he then called down to the first floor. "It's all good. It was just Ginkotsu."

Jakotsu, appearing from under the balcony, looked up at his two brothers standing at the banister. "Well, damn. I was ready to beat someone's ass."

Bankotsu and Ginkotsu cut their eyes to each other, matching looks of disbelief in their eyes. It was Bankotsu that responded though. "Sure you were."

Sneering at his baby brother, Jakotsu put his hands on his hips. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Grinning, Bankotsu chuckled and he folded his arms on the rail. "That you might've broken a nail, Princess."

Though Jakotsu flipped him the double bird, he did grunt with he got a look at his aforementioned nails. Shaking his head, he crossed his arms. "You could do with a manicure yourself, Fucker."

Winking at his brother, he then cocked his head. "Hey, you staying here or heading out?"

Moment forgotten, Jakotsu tapped his arm with his finger. "Heading out. I have got a laundry list of shit to do in the morning, and no where on it includes a drive home from here."

Nodding, Bankotsu looked between his brothers. "You two mind locking up for me on your way out?" When both his brothers agreed, he shook hands with Ginkotsu and gave a half-assed salute to Jakotsu. "Then I'll see you two later."

As Bankotsu headed back to his room, Ginkotsu bounded down the stairs to put out the fire in the pit and close the sliding doors while Jakotsu took it upon himself to pick up some of the mess that was made.

Closing his door behind him when he entered his bedroom, he looked at Kagome, who had taken up residence on his bed while she waited for him to come back as asked. She was sitting cross legged at the foot, leaning back against the foot board, playing with her fingers.

Turning to look at him when he leaned against his dresser, she brought her legs up and wrapped her arms around them. "Everything okay?"

Nodding to her, he crossed his arms and ankles. "It's fine. Who you heard in my office was Ginkotsu." When her expression turned questioning, he shrugged. "He needed some paperwork. No big deal."

Lifting a brow, Kagome's face then became skeptical. "Are you sure?"

She was an intuitive little thing, wasn't she? Even still, Bankotsu nodded. "Positive. He's the attorney for all of us, and is in and out for something all the time."

Though no less skeptical, it was pretty clear he wasn't going to tell her anything, so instead, she laid her head on her knees. "Can we talk?" When she saw him raise a questioning brow, she sighed quietly to herself. "It's just..." picking her head up, "...I think, if we're going to do this, we should just put everything out on the table."

Lips pursing, Bankotsu narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "Such as?"

Licking her lips, Kagome scratched her cheek before she locked their eyes and answered. "I have friends. Most of them are guys. I don't want to be continuously accused of something I'm not doing, or be called all manner of horrible names because I'm hanging out with them. That's not fair. I shouldn't have to justify my friendships to your brothers just to be in a relationship with you."

Face pinching slightly, Bankotsu looked at the ceiling. "I don't think..." looking at her, "...that is something you'll have to worry about again. Kyokostu overstepped himself, and was made aware of his mistake. But, I'm curious; while he was spewing his bullshit, did he happen to mention that he blew through his inheritance, had to borrow money from Mukotsu to pay off a shit load of gambling debts, lives with Suikotsu because he's completely fucking broke and, other than keeping a roof over his head, all of us have cut him off?"

Expression leveling out, Kagome shook her head. "No, he left that part out."

Bankotsu snorted and rolled his eyes. "So, as far as that goes, you're right. You shouldn't have to justify your friendships to my brothers, and it's not fair of them to hold my past relationship against you. You can be friends with whoever you want, I really don't care. Under no circumstances are your friends really my decision. However, that said... If you're mine, you're mine, so you do have to justify them to me." When both of her eyebrows shot up to hide behind her bangs, he waved a hand and clarified. "Not to the point of why you're friends, or whatever. It's more along the lines of... if you have nothing to hide, and you don't think you're doing anything wrong, then there's no reason not to tell me you're hanging out with this guy or that guy while I think you're doing something else. _That_ is where we'll run into a really big fucking problem."

Changing her position, Kagome shifted so she was sitting on the edge of the bed, her fingers lacing together as she set them on her knees and leaned forward on her thighs. There was something of a sarcastic amusement on her face if Bankotsu had to name it, but he couldn't figure out what was funny about the conversation. He did, however, find out what she found humor in when she spoke. "So, does that mean I'm going to get the same courtesy?"

The noise that slipped past Bankotsu's lips was something of a cross between a scoff and a snort. Running a hand down his face, he kept his chin in his palm as he looked at her. "Yeah, it does, actually. This is a two way street, meaning I can't ask something _of_ you I'm not willing to do _for_ you." Reaching across his throat, he scratched the back of his jaw with his thumb in thought before letting out a sigh and rolling his back, pushing himself to stand as he dropped his arms.

Closing the distance between himself and his bed, he forced Kagome to lean back as he bent at the waist, placing his hands to either side of her on the mattress. Kagome propped herself up by her hands, and Bankotsu locked their eyes and lowered his voice. "Alright, so I guess it's my turn now, huh? I don't do real well with girlfriends. I don't like to play the game of 'is she talking to me today'. I absolutely don't play the game of 'what did I do wrong this time'. I just flat out don't play games. They're ridiculous and I am _way_ too old for them." He watched Kagome's eyes dim sightly, but when she opened her mouth, he clamped his hand over it, not quite done with what he was saying. "Now, with that said, here's my little secret." Moving his hand and replacing it where it was on the mattress a moment ago, he leaned forward until their noses touched, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. "I want, to marry you." Pulling back, he grinned at her, though didn't speak above that same whisper. "How's that for putting everything out on the table, Pretty Girl?"


	13. Chapter 13

"Oh my God, Kagome! You can't leave it there! What did you say? What did he say? Are you getting married? Kami, woman, I _need_ details so I can react to this situation accordingly, damn it."

Sitting at the table with her head down, Kagome cut her eyes to the way over excited Jakotsu, who was looking at her with the most expectant look she had ever seen on anyone's face. She didn't want to have this conversation with him. She didn't want to have this conversation with anyone. Under no circumstances did she actually want to admit she fucking panicked and shot that conversation with Bankotsu down flatter than a pancake. She wouldn't even have it with Sango, she was so fucking embarrassed about it.

Then again, the next time she saw Sango was when she stopped at Kamano to pick up her and Kouga's paychecks two days later, which was also only a few hours before Ginta's service. She wasn't in the mood for much that day, and the moment she walked in the front door, Sango pounced on her, demanding to know what happened after she and Miroku left. She had done her best to ignore the hounding, but it was so persistent, Kagome, in the middle of the floor, balled her fists and yelled Sango's name louder than she meant to. With a flushed face and wet eyes, she had told Sango she couldn't talk about it right then, and with much more hurried steps, made her way back to the office, steadfastly ignoring Sango's stammered attempt at a horrified apology.

While in the office with Toga she had attempted to compose herself, but it was proving much more difficult than she imagined. Her boss had given her all the time she needed, but what she was trying to do was going to take far longer than handful of minutes. She would be seeing one of her longest friends for the last time, since the mortician able to cover or disguise the worst of the injuries Ginta had sustained to his head, so the family was able to have an open casket. It was better for 'closure' they said. Seemed a ridiculous thought to her, but at the same time, she had hopes that seeing him in a much more peaceful way might erase, or least ease the burden of watching him gasp and struggle for his final breath.

It did neither.

After the showing, she vanished, not taking any calls, even from Kouga. She spent that night hiding from the world in her room, looking at scrapbooks, trying with everything she had to remember every good and happy memory they shared for the last twenty years, but it didn't do anything but make things worse. Every new picture she looked at her mind superimposed the corpse she saw that day over the happy and full of life guy she had always known Ginta to be.

In the end, she cried herself to sleep, only to cuss out the Kami themselves when she was shaken from her dream world where Ginta was still alive the morning he was being laid to rest.

The day itself was beautiful, but there was a dark cloud over everyone that gathered at the funeral home for the service. She even made a speech by request of Mama Shun, but by the time she sat back down, she couldn't remember what she said. She thought she was numb. That's what she felt like, anyway. It wasn't until the end of the burial itself her world crumbled, crashing around her in shattering waves as the coffin was lowered into the ground.

Kouga, who watched her become nearly as inconsolable as his aunt, took it upon himself to involve Bankotsu, having personally seen him be able to calm Kagome down and bring her back to herself. Also, he made that call without having any idea that the man had told Kagome he wanted to marry her, or that she dodged the statement with a whimper and an 'I can't do this right now'.

Bankotsu hadn't attended either the wake or the funeral, though he had been given permission to attend both. However politely, he declined, saying it wasn't a proper thing to do to intrude on a family's final moments with their loved one when he had never actually met Ginta while he was alive, though in a much more tactful way. When he got that call from Kouga though, he dropped everything he was doing at the time, jumped in his car, and headed straight for the address he had been given where everyone was gathering for the celebration of life party, only stopping to pick up a very expensive, very sought after bottle of wine for Mama Shun. He still didn't understand the reason behind it, but having been told by someone when his parents died that you shouldn't show up empty handed to something like that when he asked why everyone was bringing them food, he made sure he didn't show up empty handed. But, taking into account most people were probably making sure she and Hakkaku didn't go hungry, he opted for alcohol since the woman did just bury her son.

For Kagome, when she saw Bankotsu making his way through the crowded room, something in the way she saw him changed. She wasn't sure what it was exactly, but when he folded her in his arms, it was like... new pieces just fell into place. They didn't replace the ones that were missing, but they did make her feel less empty.

That was seventeen days ago, and over those seventeen days, if she wasn't at work, she was with him. He just made her really happy, which made her feel like all the more of an asshole over how blatantly she rebuked his 'I want to marry you' statement he made nearly three weeks prior. He had been extremely fucking gracious about that, too; far more so than she would have been. Once she said she couldn't have that conversation, he dropped it with no more fanfare than an 'I understand', and it hadn't even been mentioned again.

So far as she could tell, her rebuff hadn't changed anything. He still acted the same way toward her. No more or less effort was put in on his part when it came to his pursuance. To her, he really did seem to have a full understanding of where her head was when she followed up his 'I want to marry you' with a 'I can't do this right now'. With them having just met the Saturday prior to the Wednesday when the statement was made, no part of her thought that 'putting everything on the table' would have included something like that.

Now, here she was, seventeen days later, looking at the situation every which way she could, trying to find a way to approach the topic again without looking ridiculous doing it. If she was completely honest with herself, it wasn't that she was actually against the notion when Bankotsu said it. It was more she didn't know she wasn't against it at the time because she was caught so off guard, her brain completely shut down and she couldn't think through the shock, so she said the first thing that came out of her mouth. Sure, it wasn't a 'yes', but what she was holding onto was that is also wasn't a flat out 'no'.

However, she knew how close Bankotsu and Jakotsu where, so she would be lying if she said she wasn't just a little shocked to find out Bankotsu hadn't told Jakotsu about that particular conversation, and frankly, more than a bit annoyed at the fact. The reason being, now that he did know, one of two things were going to happen. The first was, he would keep this between them, or the other was, he would go running to Bankotsu to bitch him out for not telling him about it sooner. She had neither any idea which Jakotsu would do, nor the ability to stop the latter option from happening.

Looking at him right then, he certainly didn't look pissed off about being left in the dark when there was a mention of marriage on his baby brother's part. He just looked really interested in finding out how the story ended and if he was going to get the offer to help her plan the wedding.

Instead, she couldn't offer him either, because she had a brain fart.

Licking her lips, she picked her head up and shook it. "I don't have any more details than that. That's... that's where the conversation ended." When she saw Jakotsu's brow rise, she shrugged helplessly. "I panicked. I didn't know what to say, so I... told him I couldn't have that conversation. He was really nice about it. Just said he understood and that was that."

Not even the overly distraught look on the girl's face stopped the somewhat devilish smirk that pulled at the corner of Jakotsu's lips. Eyes shining pure and undiluted amusement, he chuckled in his throat as he reached out a hand and gently cupped the side of Kagome's face. "My precious little baby... you're an idiot."

Wrenching herself free of his light hold, and taking complete and total offence to the statement, Kagome scoffed hard as she shot out of her seat, a glare on her face. "Gee, thanks for saying so. Really appreciate you making me feel so much fucking better over this, you asshole." She was positive she was gonna get fired for that, but oh well in her mind.

Jakotsu, however, just smirked wider, lifting hand and, with a hard flick of his wrist, pointed back at the chair Kagome just vacated. "Sit."

And damn if she didn't drop right back down. All that came to her mind was she deserved a massive treat for that show of obedience.

Lacing his fingers together next to his face, the amused shine in his eyes turned to stars. "You, my absolutely precious little baby girl, are an idiot."

Face low and level, Kagome's eyes narrowed. "So you've said."

Giving her a look that clearly told her to shut up, Jakotsu clicked his tongue several times in thought before he smiled at her. "You act like I don't know my baby brother I've known, his whole life. Because I know him as well I do, I can tell you, with certainty, that conversation has not left his mind, once. Just because he's not repeating himself doesn't mean he's taken it back. You told him you weren't ready to talk about that. This is him respecting that."

Pausing for a moment, Jakotsu unlaced his fingers and set his hand over Kagome's. "Look, Babydoll, you have two choices here. If you're not ready to actually have that conversation, there is nothing wrong with that. So, your first choice is, you continue on your way and ignore him telling you he wants to marry you until you are. Your other choice is, regardless of your readiness for matrimony, talk to him like a fucking grown up." Watching her rear back like he physically stuck her, he shrugged. "Look, I'm not taking sides here, but if I must, I will pick his. He is my brother, after all."

There was no part of her that wanted to give him a pass for that, but she also knew he had a point. To think otherwise would have really just proved him right about her being an idiot. So, instead of saying anything about that part, she sighed hard, her voice more than a little flustered. "How does one even bring it up at this point? It was said once, almost _three_ weeks ago." Looking Jakotsu dead in the eyes, "how do I even begin to fix that fuck up?"

His smirk returning full force, Jakotsu's eyes ignited. "It's only a fuck up if you have regrets." Jaw dropping, he covered his mouth with an audible clap. "You do, don't you?"

Groaning, Kagome slipped her fingers on one hand into her hair, propping her head up with her palm. "Not to like... the point of getting married tomorrow, or anything. But, more like I'm just, I... I'm not against the idea. He just... he caught me so off guard, I didn't know what to say, and now, I don't know how to bring it up again."

As he was leaning back in his seat and throwing his arm over the back of his chair, Jakotsu chuckled as he spoke. "Well, I'm sure if you change your mind he can make it happen." Grinning at her sidelong look, he smiled at her. "Well, I have a solution to both of those problems. Let's start with the thing that seems to keep you up at night. You know, Dollface, the benefit of a long engagement is perfection. You have all the time in the world to make that very special day everything you could possibly imagine. See, divorce isn't a thing for Akasakis. You get married, you stay married. You get pissed, Honey you better walk into the next room and calm your ass because you're gonna work it out. You, literally, only get one. Our parents were married in less than a month of meeting and were together for over two decades before they died. They were mostly happy. You don't live with someone twenty-four fucking seven and not get on each other's nerves. But, they beat their odds, and Bankotsu got his stubbornness from our mother. Not to mention, I come free of charge for my siblings weddings, so there is that to keep in mind as well."

When Kagome snorted, he chuckled. "I'm only half joking. Anyway, no one said anything about getting married tomorrow, though like I said, if that's what you wanted, I guarantee you he could make it happen. If I can say one thing about him, it's once that little shit gets something in his head, there isn't really anything that is going to stop him but law enforcement and the laws of physics. But, moving on to relevance since that is a story for another time, this whole thing could take a year or better and it wouldn't matter. You two do not have to walk in our parent's footsteps and tie the not so quickly. A ring on that finger would pacify Bankotsu for years to come, because then he has this... visible thing that tells everyone you're his Lady, or at least will be."

Then, leaning forward, Jakotsu sort of looked around, seeing how close the next table of people were to them, even knowing no one was, and the only reason Kagome was even still there was because he refused to hand over his credit card and pay his bill until she told him why she seemed to so hellbent on getting away from him. Finding out it was because she was worried he was there on an irregular night for Bankotsu actually made some kind of sense, if not also making his brother look like some kind of insecure stalker in the process.

Setting his chin on the back of his fingers, Jakotsu looked Kagome dead in the eyes. "For the other... pillow talk is the best asset a female has in any relationship." When she didn't pick up his meaning fast enough, he grinned. "You two fuck like rabbits. Bring it up in the basking aftermath."

Having no idea how she was supposed to respond to that, she whacked him a good one on the arm, seething through clenched teeth. "Jakotsu."

To which all he did was laugh. "Kagome, I'm gay, not a girl. Believe it or not, there is a penis between my legs, so I don't have nearly as large of a red flag on the play talking about sex as you do. Besides, you wouldn't believe what you can get out of a man after you just rocked his world. I do that shit all the time."

Covering her flaming face with her hands, Kagome groaned loud. "Jesus..." looking through her fingers, "...there is no part of me that needed to know any of that."

In the face of Kagome's clear discomfort, Jakotsu actually _giggled_. "Honey, Bankotsu might call me Princess, but I am here to tell you, I am a fucking queen, and I get exactly what I want."

Dropping both her arms, she gave him a desperate look. "Would you stop it?"

Jakotsu pointed a finger in her face, losing all the humor from a moment ago. "No, and here's why... you, Baby Girl, need to start seeing yourself as deserving of everything Bankotsu has to offer, and stop the personal mental beatdown you're giving yourself because you, for whatever reason, think you're not good enough." Crossing his arms, he dropped back into his chair again when she dropped her eyes. "My eyes are up here." Waiting until she was looking at him again, he smiled at her. "You need to put far less stock in what others think and much more into what he does. Stop worrying so much about what other people might say about you, and just be you. Believe it or not, other people outside your relationship don't matter in the fucking slightest. Even I, when it comes to what happens between the two of you, don't matter. My opinion here, means shit. The only opinions that do are yours, and his. Both of you know you don't care about what he has; you care about him, so why does what anyone else thinks mean more to you than what he does?"

Shaking her head, Kagome sighted. "It's not that, I mean not really. Yeah, it's not exactly awesome to be called a gold-digging whore, but ya know..."

Jakotsu cut her off, not even slightly willing to put up with where that statement was heading. "Kyokotsu might have said it out loud, but you already thought it, or him popping off at the mouth like he did wouldn't have been a problem. You're reaching. You're looking for a reason for this not to be a good idea. Now, I'll give you Bankotsu lives a pretty lavish lifestyle with the nice car and the nice home and everything else he does. But, he earned it. He worked very hard for everything he has. Now, you need to stop and look at this from a completely different perspective. You work very hard for everything you make here, but you don't keep it. If you did, the two of you would be on much more equal ground. You make more than enough to support yourself, have a pretty decent social life, and have money in the bank as well. However, instead of doing that, since you started here, you have all but single handedly financed the running of the country's oldest holy shrine so it doesn't either get shut down or the lands taken over by someone who would destroy it. At what point do you look at the situation in front of you as it is, and stop twisting it into something it isn't to fit an outdated social separation narrative that doesn't have a place today? One where impoverished women were married off to the highest bidder likely to never been seen by their families again, and openly gay men were murdered because they held no benefit to the expansion of society?"

Having said what he felt needed to be said, Jakotsu stood up, pulled his wallet from his pocket, and plucked the cash inside. Keeping it twined through his fingers, he set his hand on the drink tray on the table, and set his other hand on the back of Kagome's chair as he bent down and whispered in her ear. "The only one that doesn't see your worth is you. Think about it."

Kagome closed her eyes as he kissed her cheek and stood, leaving the money for his bill and tip on the tray in front of her. She didn't open them again until she was sure Jakotsu was gone, and sighed as she did so.

After a minute or two, she grabbed the cash, stuffed it in her apron, and stood up. Clearing the table, she deposited the dishes on the washing station and pulled out her phone. Glancing back into the dining room, she located Sesshoumaru still closing down the bar, and once she was positive she had the time do it, she brought up her text messaging, and sent one off to Bankotsu, asking if he has plans that night, or if he had some time to talk.

As far as she was concerned, this was getting settled one way or another, and the sooner, the better.


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay guys, here's the deal. I am not making any promises for updates between now and December. NaNo starts next week, my friend is in town, and time is very limited. I said a couple of chapters ago fanfiction takes a back seat to my originals, and that's on the schedule for the next month. If I get my book done early, I'll update before December. If not, I hope to see you back here for some more fuckery in roughly 34 days.**

 **Much Love,  
Kouga's Eternal. **

***X***

Breath caught behind Bankotsu's lips on her throat, Kagome's back arched.

" _But... we just met. Like... five days before you said it. How could you possibly know you wanted to marry me in such a short amount of time? Even now, it's only been three weeks."_

Fingers slipping into Kagome's hair, Bankotsu used his grip to pull her head back just a little more, giving himself the room needed to reach her jaw from under her chin.

" _And I still haven't changed my mind on the topic. See, it's not about the length of time. It's about the quality of it."_

A gasped moan slipped from her, her leg hiking higher up Bankotsu's side, the change of her body allowing him deeper.

" _People date for years and still break up; are married for decades and get divorced. I guess I just don't understand how you're so confident you want this with me after such a short amount of time."_

Pushing himself up on his hands, Bankotsu dipped his head, recapturing Kagome's lips with his. Rolling his hips against hers, he groaned in his throat at the change of angle

" _You know, if you stop putting so much emphasis on how many times the world has turned, you might be able to see that for me, when you're around, the world stops. Time itself ceases to mean a damn thing, and no amount of pointing out the amount that has actually passed is going to change anything. Today, tomorrow, next month, or next year, the fact remains I said what I said and no, I won't take it back just because the statement made you uncomfortable. In black and white reality Pretty Girl, if I had my way, you'd already be my wife. I told you before I said it I'm not interested in having a girlfriend. I'm not even slightly interested in playing ridiculous dating games for the next two years. I want the actual relationship that comes after that bullshit, and want that with you. If you're not interested in the same, that's something I have no say in and is a decision you have to make for yourself."_

Fingers tangling in Bankotsu's rarely unbraided hair, Kagome used the grip to hold him in place, demanding a deepening of their kiss. Her tongue glided his as she brought her other leg up Bankotsu's side, hooking her ankles together behind his back.

" _Okay, now I'm really confused. If you're not interested in having a girlfriend, then why are you...?"_

Cock buried to the hilt, Bankotsu shifted his weight, sliding his knee forward in response to Kagome once again changing her position. Feeling the slight flutter of her inner muscles, he picked up his pace, surging his hips forward in both faster and harder strokes against her.

" _Because that's how relationships work, Kagome. They're not about what just one wants, they're about what both do. I don't know what kind of bullshit 'relationships' you've been in in the past, or what kind of crap you felt forced into doing under the guise of being a 'good girlfriend', but in this one, it's just as much about what you want as it is what I want; if not more so what you want because in this relationship it's my intention to make you deliriously happy. Though, to be fair, I guess you can't say you don't know where I want this to go from the get-go, can you? That aside for now, look, in actual adult relationships, there is something called give and take, Koi, so if I have to give you what you want in order to ultimately get what I want, then so beit, because that's how shit works. If you're not ready to get married, fine. However, that said, to be honest here, I'm just as confused as to what the problem is because as for that aside, I'm going to take this moment to point out that though, yes, I did say I want to marry you, I did not actually ask you to marry me. Believe it or not, there is a_ big _difference between the two. Also, to clear this up, I didn't think you were ready for something like that when I said what I said."_

As the coiling in her stomach tightened, Kagome's breathing began to hitch, breaking their kiss as she gasped for her next breath. Eyes closed and lips parted, her nails, still some what tangled in Bankotsu's hair, raked across his back, her body pressing harder against his.

" _It's not that I'm not ready for it, Bankotsu. I'm not saying I am either, before you start. It's just... there are steps in relationships, and you're trying to skip every single one; dating being the first and probably most important. That's how they end by the way, by skipping steps."_

Wincing with a grunt when he felt her nails in his back, Bankotsu reattached his lips to Kagome's neck, scraping his teeth across her skin in a subtle retaliation. Feeling her begin to quiver around him, he pulled out all the way to the head before sinking his dick all the way back in with a slight twist of the hips, catching her clit at just the right angle to cause her walls to clench around him in a vice grip.

" _That's not even slightly true. They end because someone gives up and stops trying to make the relationship work, not because someone skips steps, whatever the hell that means. Dating is also not a relationship, it's all the crap that comes before the relationship starts. Dating is what bored ass teenagers do to pass the time while they learn about themselves and what they want in a long term partner. When you already know that, dating becomes nothing more than a tedious means to an end. It's pointless and, oftentimes, pretty fucking infuriating honestly. Someone gets pissed off, storms off, and vanishes, leaving it up to the other one to come crawling across broken glass like they're little more than a misbehaving dog begging for their owner's attention when in reality, the one that stormed off is acting like a child. What you want from me is a bullet point list of reasons why, I'm not giving it to you, and you're getting irritated with me because of it. The 'next step' in this series of events is, you make some snappy statement before you take off and then wait to see how long it takes me to prove I care about you and chase your ass back down. If wanting to avoid all that nonsense is 'skipping steps', then you're absolutely right about me skipping every single one of them. Those aren't steps, Kagome; those are games. I've played that one with you once already, and we've covered I'm not going to do it again. I swear to the Kami themselves I will give you all the time in the world to get on the same page I'm on, but if you're not going into this with the intention of longevity, then you need to bite the proverbial bullet and tell me."_

With her cry of completion clogging her throat, Kagome's mind went as blank as it always did, though this time it also has the added result of her teeth finding purchase in Bankotsu's shoulder. She honestly hasn't meant to do it, but her body went on lockdown, her muscles freezing her in place while she was still wrapped around Bankotsu's body.

The conversation she wanted to have with him that night in no way went the way she envisioned, Bankotsu possessing this uncanny ability to see right through her and calling her out on every last bit of it, including when he basically accused her of playing a game, though at the time, it wasn't intentional on her part. It became clear he knew her better than she thought when she did intentionally mistake something he said, turning it into something he didn't, and he proved very quickly he wasn't joking when he said he wasn't playing her games when she went to storm off with a snappy statement, saying something to the effect of 'well, if you don't want to be a boyfriend, then I guess we're done here'.

She knew perfectly well what kind of relationship he desired and what titles he wanted. He had been more than upfront about the entire situation and she also knew he was willing to put every bit of it aside until she said otherwise. When she took the unnecessary snap at him, she then learned two very important lessons when it came to Bankotsu. The man had a glare that could freeze the blood in your veins, and he was in no way afraid of bestowing it on her. He was also not afraid of giving her a verbal ass whoopin', the likes of which she had never gotten before. The tongue lashing she received left her emotionally raw, and all she could do was stand there and stare at him as she tried to come up with a counter to his words, but found out, there wasn't one. He was right down to the core of his statement, and she felt properly chastised when he finally ran out of steam.

And he didn't feel a bit bad about it, either. Could he have made the same point using a lot less fucks? Sure he could have, but he didn't, and he didn't care. He had a fully grasped understanding of the fact the girl had a mile long list of insecurities, but he also had a fully grasped understanding of the fact she refused to see past the superficial bullshit, which was over half the fucking problem. She stubbornly held onto the one part of the situation he could do nothing about, which was also the one thing he saw as the stupidest part of the whole ordeal.

He knew she felt inadequate, which wouldn't be such a horrible thing if she would've given him some way to prove otherwise. It came down to him having to yell at her, which he didn't exactly relish in doing, but being left with no other option, he used her shock when he told her she wasn't going any fucking where until she finally listened to _him_ on the fucking matter against her. Looking her dead in her wide eyes, he regurgitated every conversation he had about her to everyone he had it with, ending with 'do you really think I would do something so fucked up as to physically injure one of my brothers because of you if I didn't think you were fucking worth it? At this point, you're doing this shit on purpose, and I dare you to fucking say otherwise'. Did he maybe push that one too far? He wouldn't deny that, but he got her to listen, and that was one of the biggest hurdles he had.

There were several minutes of stony silence between them as he watched her thoughts fly through her eyes before she finally sighed and shook her head, begrudgingly telling him he was right, to which he snorted with a 'no shit'.

The conversation at that point calmed back down, though the topic remained the same. For Kagome, realizing he not only knew exactly what her issues were but was also both willing to acknowledge them for what they were and help her get past them made more than a world of difference to her. She hadn't noticed how much of an asshole she had been, or she had but figured it didn't matter because she didn't feel she deserved someone like him and was trying to drive him off that way since he wouldn't leave on his own.

A fact Bankotsu kind of wanted to throttle her for. Sure, he was the kind of guy that enjoyed the chase, and he got a hard on when it came to the particular challenge she posed, but at the same time, what she failed to realize prior to his display of temper was, part of the reason he liked her as much as he did was because she didn't care about the kind of life he could provide for her if she would just. fucking. let him. There were no expectations on her part for expensive dinners or fancy dates, which made him want to take her on them all the more. There was no feeling of obligation to always present her with presents, which made it all the more difficult to not shower her with all the pretty things. The more she railed against it, the more enticing it became to share the finer things with her. She was the most infuriating woman he had ever met, but he couldn't imagine sharing his life with anyone else. It might have been fucked up and ass backwards, but it was the honest to God's truth.

By the time Bankotsu was done explaining his side of things, if it were possible for Kagome to be a puddle of goo on the floor, she would have been. For the last three weeks she had refused to allow him any kind of leeway when it came to what they did with their time together. He had been a decent sport about it, giving in if she said she didn't want to do something because it cost too much or it was a waste of money. He had only given her one present over that time, and though she absolutely loved it, she told him he didn't have to do that and to not do it again. She watched him bite his tongue, but he did agree. Now, though, he was very clear on the fact it was his money she didn't want him to spend, and if he wanted to spend it spoiling the shit out of her, he would do so. However, he did concede to her when she asked him not to go overboard with it as she played with the charm on the necklace she hadn't taken off since he gave it to her.

Something else Kagome learned about Bankotsu was that, not only was he able to see straight through her bullshit, he was also able to shock the shit out of her. Once things calmed down and the yelling between them stopped, she had allowed him to pull her into his arms, lacing his fingers together behind her back and hold her to his chest as he leaned back against the counter of the island. Looking down at her, he finally gave her the explanation she wanted, which left her all aflutter, before he leaned in close to her face. His voice was almost as deep as his eyes when he spoke again. "Marry me."

Though her heart jumped to her throat, she couldn't help but giggle at him. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

There was a grin on his lips, and his left brow popped. "If I don't ask, you can't tell me no." He then set his forehead against hers and lowered his voice. "Marry me, Pretty Girl."

She hadn't answered him, just kissed him. Whether or not she was trying to buy herself time before she had to say something, she had no idea, but the way he intensified the kiss as quickly as he did she also wasn't even sure he wanted her to answer him right then. They hadn't even made it up to his room. He just scooped her up and carried her to one of the two downstairs rooms because they were closer. It wasn't out of the realm of normal for them. He had taken possession of her body on nearly every flat surface in the place.

While it wasn't abnormal for them to get down and dirty wherever they happened to be at the time, this time was just different. Now, wrapped up together in such a passionate embrace, once she released his shoulder from that bite, she looked up at him as he caught his breath after his own release. Panting, head slightly spinning, Kagome licked her lips before she blurted out, "Okay."

She could call him an asshole for it later, but there was no way she getting out of saying the words, even though he knew damn well what she meant. Instead, while his breaths leveled and heart slowed, he tilted his head slowly to the side. "Okay?"

A small smile graced her lips, her eyes shining as she figured out what he wanted to hear. He had given her everything she wanted, so she gave in. "I'll marry you."


	15. Chapter 15

"What the fuck is that?"

Not looking up from the written proposal to change the repayment plan Yura had given him to have him bought out of the business within the next six months, minus his cut of the monthly sales, Bankotsu hummed in his throat as he flipped the page. He would have Ginkotsu look it over before he signed it as he always did, but he had told her he would look at it, and he was doing so since he said he would. Responding to Doshi, his brows creased at what he was reading. "It's exactly what it looks like."

Putting his hand in Bankotsu's way, covering the words he was reading to force the man to look at him, Doshi narrowed his eyes. "I figured as much, but when the hell did you get married?"

Yanking the document out from under his buddy's hand, Bankotsu reopened it to the page he was reading. Turning his palm to face him and taking a moment to gaze at the platinum band on his finger, he then returned his eyes to the paperwork, though he did answer the question. "A couple of days ago."

Feeling unjustifiably miffed someone he considered one of his best friends hadn't even told him he was getting married, much less that it already happened until a 'couple of days' later, Doshi huffed and crossed his arms. "Hey, ya know, congratulations, happy for you. Kagome's awesome and all that, but you also know, if you would have told me, I would have been there."

A somewhat dark chuckle slipped past Bankotsu's lips as a smirk appeared on his features. "Awe, don't feel slighted, Dosh. My brothers probably would have been there too had I told them."

No one, literally no one, could send a shockwave through someone quite like Bankotsu could. Eyes wide and lips parted, Hakudoshi had a look of abject horror on his face. "You didn't tell them, either? Man, Jakotsu is going to kill you. Does anyone know you two are married?"

With a hard snort, Bankotsu looked back up at the man. "Of course. Kagome's mother was there, you idiot. As for Jakotsu..." looking back at the rewritten contract, "you're probably right about that. He's gonna shit his pants twice, but, she didn't want to make a huge ordeal out of it, and I'm more inclined to give her what she want than him what he does."

Doshi shook his head. "So, because she didn't want a huge wedding, you didn't invite your brothers to whatever ceremony you two did have?"

Dropping his hands, Bankotsu leveled Doshi with a hard look. "No, she told me to call them several times. I said no because I didn't want to deal with their bullshit. Besides, you know my brothers. With them it's always easier to just do the thing and make them deal with it after the fact than it is to give them time to have an opinion on the matter."

Making a face, Doshi slowly nodded. "You certainly have a point." Propping his chin on his fist, he clicked his tongue. "So, have you seen any of them since you started wearing that?"

At that question, Bankotsu shook his head. "Not yet, but I see Ginkotsu in an hour."

"Think he'll notice?"

Shrugging as he closed the folder the new proposal was in, Bankotsu stood from his stool, finished his drink and licked the remnants from his lips as he set the glass back down. "I guess we'll find out."

And it wasn't until he was almost out the door of Ginkotsu's office he got that answer. With his brother for less than ten minutes, only to drop off the new contract for legal review and to double check the time for dinner that was at Mukotsu's the upcoming Sunday, Bankotsu bid his brother a farewell, and that he would let him know if he needed anything else done.

Ginkotsu stopped him at the door. "So, I'll get on the postnup then, yeah?"

Freezing and closing his eyes, Bankotsu debated with himself for a moment before he went with stupid. Glancing over his shoulder, he blinked. "The what?"

Arms crossed over his chest, Ginkotsu cocked a brow at the youngest of his brothers. "You know, the sister document to the thing that is supposed to be drawn up and sighed _before_ the marriage, so instead this one is done after?"

Grabbing onto the doorframe and leaning into the room, Bankotsu pretended to give it some thought, but shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. See ya."

Slamming his hands on his desk as his brother turned his back, Ginkotsu shot out of his seat and barked. "BanKOTsu!"

Nose wrinkling, Bankotsu grunted under his breath. "Knew it wasn't going to be that easy." Acting very much the baby brother at the moment, Bankotsu rolled his head on his shoulder as he turned back. Folding his arms and leaning a shoulder on the door, Bankotsu smiled. "Yes, Big Brother?"

Seeing every ounce of bullshit sarcasm in his smile, Ginkotsu sighed as he retook his seat, crossing his arms again and looking at Bankotsu. "Look, Bank, Kagome is amazing, and I think the two of you are great together; I really do, and I fully welcome her into the family, but... you're not Dad, Man."

Unable to help it, Bankotsu snorted hard. "Thank the Gods for that, huh? Dad was a prick."

Choking on his own snort, Ginkotsu shrugged. "He certainly had his moments." Watching Bankotsu's face lose its expression, he relented. "More often than not, he was. I'll give you your point. My point is... I don't even know what the fuck my point is. I guess my question though, is why? You are a fart's lingering past your twenty-seventh birthday, she's only twenty-three, and you have barely known each other for a fucking month. Are you next going to tell me I'm going to be an uncle?"

Pregnancy never once crossing Bankotsu's mind, he jolted as he blinked. "Not so far as I'm aware." Then, his nose wrinkled and he looked at the ceiling, trying to remember the last time he and Kagome actually used a condom. When he couldn't recall, he hummed. "I suppose it's possible, though." Watching a very unimpressed look overtake Ginkotsu's features, Bankotsu shrugged. "Don't look at me like that. You asked, I answered. That's how conversations work."

Expression still less than impressed, Ginkotsu narrowed his eyes. "Don't get all hawty with me, you little bastard." When Bankotsu's response was to grin, he sighed. "So, what is it, exactly, you want done?"

At that, Bankotsu shook his head. "Nothing until I can convince Kagome to knock this nonsense of hers off. She doesn't want to be added to, or given access to, any of my accounts. She doesn't want one set up for her. She doesn't want a transfer allowance. She doesn't want shit."

Scratching his cheek, Ginkotsu made a face. "She does realize that as your legal spouse without a prenup, she is currently entitled to literally half of everything you have, right down to the knife block on your kitchen counter, right?"

Though Bankotsu nodded, it was with an irritated expression. "And doesn't want any of it. She won't even let me buy her a fucking car to replace her piece of shit yet." At his brother's inquisitive look, Bankotsu scoffed. "The stubborn little brat gave me some ridiculous crap about _maybe_ _in the future, but right now_ blah blah blah." Pausing to roll his eyes, he grunted. "Whatever."

His own irritation over the situation showed itself when Ginkotsu threw his hands in the air and raised his voice slightly. "That is literally what a prenuptial agreement is for, Bank. It decides all of this." Using his fingers, he ticked the list off. "How long you have to be married before she's entitled to anything. What she's entitled to after that point. What she gets in the event of a divorce. If something were to happen to you at any point in your marriage, how much of your estate she gets." Dropping his arms on the rests of his chair, he shook his head. "Currently, except for the last one because you do have a living will she's not included in yet that dictates what to do with your estate, if you two divorce tomorrow, she gets half whether either of you like it or not. That's why these exist."

Glaring pretty hard at his brother, Bankotsu snapped at him. "No, they exist because the relationship lacks trust, and after the way I got my ass chewed out over a two-hundred and fifty dollar necklace, I'm not all that concerned about her playing up some innocent little sweet girl act to get her hands on millions. Even though I know for point positive she would sign it if I gave her one, there won't fucking be one."

Holding his hands up, Ginkotsu grunted. "Alright already. Calm the fuck down, man. I didn't mean anything by it."

Bankotsu pointed a finger at him. "Which is the only reason I haven't hit you yet." Recrossing his arms, Bankotsu sighed. "Look, we've been married for like... fifty hours, and you liked her thirty minutes ago. At least wait until she gives you a reason to change your mind."

Ginkotsu's voice became incredulous. "I like her now. My problem isn't with her, you dildo. It's with you. Yeah, you're twenty-seven years old and can get married if you want to, but Jesus Christ, Bankotsu; you made six people brother in-laws, and didn't even tells us after the fact. I only know because I happened to see the ring on your finger. You don't want to protect everything you worked for, fine; you don't have to. That has nothing to do with me. Gaining a sister in-law? That fucking does."

Brows drawing down, Bankotsu licked his lips. "How, exactly?"

Ginkotsu looked at him like he was an idiot. "She's family now."

Not seeing how that was an answer, Bankotsu pushed. "Are you going to treat her any differently than you used to? Better? Worse? What?"

There was a level of defeat in Ginkotsu's answer. "Of course not."

Knowing he won, Bankotsu cocked a brow. "If that's the case, than other than not telling you, what's the problem here?"

Propping his chin on his thumb and pressing two fingers into his temple, Ginkotsu sighed through his nose. "There isn't one. There was never one. I told you, I like her. I think she's great for you. The only problem here is you going behind all of our backs and hiding it for two days."

Laying his head on the door frame, Bankotsu cleared his throat. "Ever think there might have been a reason I didn't tell you beforehand, and waited to tell you after the fact?"

Ginkotsu popped a shoulder. "Because you're an asshole?"

Face leveling out, Bankotsu tsked. "No... it's because the six of you are."

Lifting his head, Ginkotsu locked their eyes. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it one of us assholes that introduced you to the girl in the first place?"

Mirroring Ginkotsu's actions, Bankotsu's voice turned challenging. "Correct me if _I'm_ wrong, but wasn't it also one of you assholes that introduced me to almost every girl I've dated, then turned around and subsequently ran her off for whatever fucking reason you could think of at the time, even if you had make it up?"

Opening his mouth to argue, Ginkotsu then cringed when he realized Bankotsu was right. Letting out a long, drawn out breath as he ran his hand down his face, Ginkotsu then licked his lips. "Fair point, Baby Brother." It was then something else occurred to him. "For the Gods, please tell me her mother knows."

Snorting just as hard he did the last time he was asked if anyone knew, Bankotsu nodded. "She was there."

Ginkotsu's response was to grunt. "Well, at least someone's family was involved. Speaking of, you do realize once Jakotsu finds out, he's going to kill you, right?"

Feeling his phone buzz in his pocket, Bankotsu fished it out with a chuckle, looking at the screen as he answered. "I'm sure he'll try." Holding up a finger to his brother to stave off whatever he was about to say, he answered his call. "Hey there, Pretty Girl. I was just talking about you." Lip curling at the high pitched, indistinguishable noise that came through the phone, Bankotsu cut her off. "Kagome, calm down." There was a wail of 'I can't', to which he responded as he turned his head to the side. "You're gonna have to, Baby Girl, because I can't understand you."

Waving Ginkotsu off when he asked if everything was alright, his brows drew and a look of confusion overtook his face as Bankotsu tried like hell to make sense of what was being said, but couldn't make out the words, so he prompted her to repeat herself. "Come again?"

" _We're going to lose the shrine!"_

Finally being able to understand what the hell the girl was saying, though no less confused when it came to why it was being said, Bankotsu stepped into the hall to have the conversation. He kept his voice low and level in hopes that if he was calm, she would settle the fuck down so he could actually understand her. "What do you mean?"

" _Since I wasn't supposed to work today I was let off shift early so I stopped by the shrine to pick up some clothes, and I checked the mail since I had to pass the mailbox, and there was this huge envelope inside, and my mom wasn't home so I opened it because it was from a bank, and it's about a loan, and it says the repayment agreement wasn't being met and they want the whole thing repaid in the next thirty days or they are going to take the shrine._ "

Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Bankotsu sighed. "Okay, first of all, you need to breathe." Opening his eyes and leaning against the wall behind him, he crossed his free arm over his chest and propped his foot on the wall when he heard her let out a shuddering breath. "Second of all, what loan?"

" _I don't know._ "

Then and there Bankotsu decided he would rather listen to his wife scream like a banshee than ever hear her whimper like that again. When she continued on, telling him she didn't even know there was one taken out on behalf of the shrine, he clicked his tongue a few times in thought before nodding to himself. "Alright, Pretty Girl. Meet me at home and bring whatever was in that envelope with you. I can't do anything until I see the paperwork."

" _I don't want you to do anything._ "

Giving a very irritated look at the wall across from him, Bankotsu's voice went flat. "Alright you adorably stubborn little shit, listen carefully. You call me crying like this, I'm going to do something. Whether it's putting someone in the morgue, or bailing your ass out of jail, something is going to be done. Now, bring me the damn paperwork, and stop telling me no, you infuriating female."

" _Well, you married my infuriating ass._ "

A smirk tugged at Bankotsu's lips and entered his voice. "Yes I did, because you're cute as shit, and I like to smack your butt. Look, I'll see you at home. Just settle down for now, and we'll figure this out, okay? I promise."

In no way, shape, or form, did Bankotsu think that them 'figuring it out' would turn into a fight between them over what he was adamant to be a laughable amount of money that Kagome was just as adamant she wasn't taking from him.

Ginkotsu, who had gone to Bankotsu's place with him by request to figure out the state of this loan business, watched as the newlyweds continued to get more and more frustrated with the other because neither one was able to get the other to back down. As an outsider, he was perfectly able to see the issue from both sides, but he did actually come down on the side of his brother and agree that Kagome was being completely unreasonable. So much so, she even shot Bankotsu down when he told her if it was such a big fucking deal to her, she could pay him back. While he was completely taken aback at the concept of a wife paying back her husband, it just proved how ridiculous the argument itself was.

Within ten minutes of the battle beginning, Ginkotsu had sent out an all-call for reinforcements. He didn't really care how many of their brothers actually showed up, him really only needing Jakotsu, but at the same time, he also figured it was as good a time as any for them all to find out the two had gotten married.

They were still going at it when Jakotsu and Renkotsu came barreling in the door, as well as five minutes after that when Suikotsu came in. Ginkotsu just waved them down so they didn't actually get overly involved just yet. The two were going to have to learn how to come to certain agreements and both were going to have to come to the realization that contentions were going to have to be on both sides.

Shock had shot through the three newcomers when Kagome, very loudly, reiterated the fact she hadn't married Bankotsu for his fucking money, and jaws dropped further when he fired back it was actually theirs now and she needed suck it the fuck up.

It was Renkotsu that finally broke the silence between the onlookers. "Kami, what the hell is this even about?" When Ginkotsu just slid the ridiculous stack of papers to him, he looked at it with a curled lip. "I'm not reading that. Cliff Notes."

Leaning with his forearms on the counter, Ginkotsu laced his fingers together, tilting his head slightly as he watched his brother and sister in-law continue to wage their stupid little war. "Roughly three and a half years ago, someone took out a pretty sizable loan and used the grounds of the Sunset Shrine as collateral for it. Everything was fine with it until very recently, and a payment was late. Not not made, just a few days late. But, since the bank claims to have a signed repayment agreement outlining the penalty for late or missed repayment, they are using that to demand the rest of what's owed in one lump some. What you're watching is them fighting over whether or not Bankotsu is allowed to help."

Making a face, Renkotsu looked at the couple, that hadn't slowed down, and clicked his tongue. "How much are they fighting over?"

Ginkotsu snorted. "Thirty-five thousand and some change."

Renkotsu rolled his eyes, but it was then Jakotsu that asked the other important question. "How much time are we talking here?"

At that one, Ginkotsu stood up and crossed his arms. "Close of business Monday."

Jakotsu jolted like he was kicked in the ass. "It's Friday... evening."

Ginkotsu nodded. "And that, Little Brother, is how predatory lenders work. They'll give anyone with collateral whatever they want, but if the one that took out the loan fucks up just one time, they call in the entire amount, but never give enough time for the lendee to get the money together. A publicly funded holy shrine that is run exclusively off donations doesn't have that kind of money in a contingency fund, and certainly not with that kind of lien against it. Kagome just found out about all of this two hours ago, so most of what's fueling her is fear because, as we know, her family has been the caretakers of Sunset since the Feudal Era. That is a lot of generations, a very long history of fighting to keep it intact, and now she's faced with the prospect of losing it to a bank that will undoubtedly destroy it less than three days. Then, there's the fact her mother and brother live on the grounds, so if they lose the shrine, they lose that, too."

Suikotsu, who had mostly remained silent since he arrived, leaned back in the stool he took up to watch the show between his baby brother and, apparently, new sister in-law, and hummed. "When the hell did they get married." At the amused answer of two day ago, Suikotsu looked at Ginkotsu. "And... we're just going to sit here and let them throw away the honeymoon period over something so incredibly stupid? Bankotsu could quit working today, live through ten lifetimes, and still not have to lift a finger in an eleventh. He spends forty grand in a week on bullshit without batting an eye, not to mention the tens of thousands he's dropped on Kyokotsu to bail his ass out of problems of his own making. What it sounds like from where I'm sitting is by the time Kagome even found out about this her back was already against the wall."

The two fighting, however, were not oblivious to the conversation going on in the kitchen, and when Kagome heard Kyokotsu being brought up, she rounded with a glare on a now wide eyed Suikotsu. "That's his fucking brother."

And Bankotsu didn't miss a beat. "And you're my fucking _wife_. Jesus Kagome, I don't understand why this is such a difficult fucking concept." Finally, throwing his hands up, over the argument, he shook his head. "You know what? Fuck it. Since you've repeated thrown out there that's it's my money, I fail to see how the hell you think you get to tell me what the fuck I can and can't do with it."

Whipping back around with fire in her eyes, Kagome straight up snapped at him. "Don't you dare."

Leaning close to her, Bankotsu lowered his voice and locked his dark eyes on her blazing ones. "Try to fucking stop me."

Jakotsu, over hearing the two bicker like children, decided it was time to bring the nonsense to an end. Slamming his hands down on the countertop, he yelled over the thick atmosphere of the room. " _Enough_ , you two." When the couple was looking at him, he shook his head. "I don't know how long the two of you have been fighting over this, but it has been long the fuck enough." When he saw Kagome open her mouth, he pointed a finger at her. "I said enough." When she then huffed and crossed her arms, Jakotsu cocked a brow. "Honey, I can out girl you any day of the week. You put those arms down, right now. You are not my spouse and I will not put up with your attitude. Now, I said enough, and I meant it." Then, he turned his eyes on his brother. "And if I ever hear you talk to her like that again, so fucking help you, Bankotsu."

Still overly pissed off, Bankotsu just held his arms out to the side. "Bring it on, Princess. Let's see whatcha got."

Fingers splaying over the counter, Jakotsu leaned over it and narrowed his challenge sparked eyes. "I'll deal with you in a minute. For now, do try to do the only thing you've never been able to accomplish before and keep your damn mouth shut. A grown up is talking."

Ignoring the fact Bankotsu gave him the double bird salute, Jakotsu turned his sights on Kagome. Straightening his spine and standing back up, he held his palms together in front of his lips. "Now, My Darling, let me ask you this... in just about," looking at his watch and doing the math, "sixty-eight hours, what you consider to be a very substantial amount of money is due to what is little more than a loan shark. What, exactly, is your plan here if not to let your very willing husband help you, hmm?"

Crossing her arms again, though without the attitude in the action, Kagome sighed as she looked at the floor. "I don't know."

Jakotsu, just as he did at Kamano, snapped his fingers at her. "My eyes are up here." Waiting until she was looking at him again, he crossed his arms. "If you don't know, or have no answer, why are you so against allowing someone with both the means and the desire to step in to do so?"

Licking her lips and drawing her bottom one between her teeth, Kagome once again sighed, only much harder. "Because it's only been two days, and it literally goes against everything I've said about not marrying him for his money."

Smiling at her, Jakotsu chuckled. "My Little Precious; that is adorable, and commendable, and a laundry list of other 'ables' I'm sure will come up in the future. However, it's also a loud of crap. In this present moment, your stubborn refusal to allow Bankotsu any kind of financial leeway in your life for no other reason than to prove a point is nothing more than a detrimental headache. Honestly, Kagome, at this point whether you married him for his money or not is completely irrelevant. Since the two of your snuck off and got married without telling anyone so some kind of legal documentation could be put in place, whatever was his is yours now, too. What's funny here is, this is the exact opposite of what usually happens when money is a problem in a relationship. Normally, it's tight which causes tension, but in this case, it's overly abundant and you're being a brat about it."

Starting at the end of the statement, Kagome blinked. "Excuse me?"

Unrepentant, Jakotsu leveled her with a look. "It's very simple, Precious. You married into money. This is a fact; one you knew before you did it, and now that it's done, you have to deal with it but don't want to. All the hallmarks of a brat, now stop it."

Shifting his eyes to a now smirking Bankotsu, Jakotsu was no more willing to put up with his nonsense than he was Kagome's. "You have no place to be smug right now; especially when someone else had to step into your marital bullshit because you are incapable of keeping a level head when someone challenges you. Just like she has to learn to deal with the fact she has a mind bogglingly rich husband, you have to learn to deal with the fact you have an exceptionally stubborn wife."

Looking between them, he leaned on the counter with his elbows with a sigh from his nose. "Marriage, you two, is a partnership, and one that was clearly entered into without thinking things all the way through. Oopsies Darlings, but what's done is done. You're married. Congratulations. Drinks all around. Now, grow the fuck up... both of you." Looking at Kagome, "stop being such a brat and allow your husband to help you, as is his job. The moment you took your vows, you agreed to share in every aspect of Bankotsu's life, and that includes this, whether you like it or not, so suck it up because it's not going anywhere. If this is going to be a reoccurring act every time something comes up that involves money, this will be a very, very difficult marriage."

Then, he looked back at Bankotsu with much more narrowed eyes. "And as for you... stop being such an arrogant asshole and actually listen to what your wife says. Entering into a screaming match over petty nonsense like this just so you can have the last word and get your way is not only ridiculous, it's patronizing, and honestly leaves little question as to why she doesn't want your help. Just because you have more money than the Kami does not give you the right to talk down to someone as precious as your wife, and, so we're clear, no amount of anger you have justifies the way I've listened to you speak to her since I walked in the door. I know for a fact you were taught better than that, and if Mother was still alive, she would beat you within an inch of your life. Now, if you have balls to marry behind the backs of your family, then you have the balls to swallow your pride and attempt to come to an agreement in a civilized manner, even if your younger bride refuses to. If you two cannot come together and work out your problems in a much calmer fashion, this will not last." Folding his arms on the counter, Jakotsu once again leaned his weight onto it, locking his eyes with his brother's and all but growling at him. "Now, apologize."

Though there was a very dark glare for his brother, Bankotsu did sigh slightly before looking down at Kagome. "I'm sorry for how I spoke to you."

Kagome just cut her eyes to him. "I'm sorry I pushed you that far."

Even knowing that was clearly halfhearted, Jakotsu smiled nonetheless as he stood back up and clapped his hands together. "Fantastic. Now..." rolling his head to his older brother, "Ginkotsu, is that bank open tomorrow?"

Ginkotsu just shrugged. "It's Saturday, so I can't imagine it wouldn't be."

Grin growing, Jakotsu looked right at Kagome. "Marvelous. I'm afraid I will be otherwise occupied in the morning, so if you would be so kind, Ginko, please write a check from my account for whatever amount is left on the loan and take care of this situation." Watching Kagome open her mouth, he just held up a finger. "Tut tut tut... First of all, sister in-law, not wife. I don't have to listen when you tell me no, so shut up. Second of all, I have heard your protests and am blatantly ignoring them as I always have, so shut up. Third of all, welcome to our family, where we look out for each other so none of us are going to stand idly by and watch as our sister in-law loses her family's legacy to fucker with a pen, so shut up. Fourth of all, I have a pen too, and I'm writing the damn check whether you like it or not, so shut the hell up."

Grunting under her breath, Kagome's nose wrinkled. "Kami, you're all the same."

In response, Bankotsu chuckled. "We were all raised by the same people. Did you expect any different?" He just chuckled again when Kagome let out another grunted.

Once Jakotsu heard Ginkotsu agree to do as asked, he smiled wide and rubbed his palms together. "And now that that's settled, I'm going back to my date I was pulled away from to deal with your nonsense." Bringing both his hands to his lips, he then blew a kiss as he moved away from the kitchen island. "Good night, gentlemen, My Little Precious. I will see you all at Mukotsu's on Sunday for dinner." Waving a finger back and forth between Bankotsu and Kagome, he have them a look. "Work it out, because if I have to come back and do it for you, I will hurt you both by using one of you to beat the other one." As he headed for the door, he mumbled under his breath. "Married... honestly, next thing they know they will be responsible for tiny human lives and they can barely take care of themselves without intervention."

And that was exactly why Ginkotsu only really needed Jakotsu. He certainly wouldn't put up Bankotsu's bullshit, or Kagome's, making him the best one to defuse the situation. Now that it was dealt with in just about the only way it could be, Ginkotsu looked at his twin and Suikotsu. "Card night?" At their agreement, he looked back at the couple in the living room, a grin on his lips. "Good luck, you two. It certainly sounds like you need it."

Kagome, who plopped down on the couch, waited until she heard the front door close behind Ginkotsu, Renkotsu, and Suikotsu before she spoke, and it was with slight disdain. "Why does it seem like he took more pleasure in that than he probably should have?"

With a quiet snort, Bankotsu took a seat at the other end of the couch, setting his ankle on his knee and draping one arm along the armrest and other over the back of the couch. "Because he did." Looking at Kagome when she looked at him, he shrugged. "It's not often I'm the one getting torn apart like that by Jakotsu, so when it happens, they take a lot of enjoyment from it." Moving his arm to scratch his forehead, he then dropped it along the back of the couch with a sigh. "I am sorry for yelling at you the way I did. I have my father's temper, and don't particularly care to be told no. It makes me angry."

An bemusedly incredulous look overtook Kagome's face. "Really? I never would have guessed that."

Though his eyes flattened, there was a partial smirk on Bankotsu's lips. "Hush, because you're no better." When she averted her eyes, he clicked his tongue. "Look, Baby, we've had this fight before, several time, and you're still doing the same thing now you've done since day one; putting far more into what other people might think instead of giving a damn about what I actually say." Waiting until he saw her deep brown eyes looking at him, his foot began to bounce, though he was determined to not allow his temper to once again take over. "I'm tired of shit always coming back to this, so you need to tell me what the hell to do here, Kagome, because I don't know." Lifting an arm, he then held up a finger. "What I do know is, I'm not the only one that's going to have learn to swallow my pride every now and again, am I?"

The absolute last thing Kagome wanted to do was admit he had a point. As a matter of fact, she had gotten a very hefty dose of reality from the time her day started, they just kept coming, and she was just about over them for the time being. When she got called into work that morning, the first person she saw when she walked in the door was Kouga. She didn't even have to open her mouth to tell him she did anything before he looked her dead in the eyes, asking her what she had done. At first, she tried to buy herself some time, asking about how the baby was doing, but Kouga wasn't having it. After telling her he was fine and to never use him like that again, Kouga pressed again. Though she danced around the answer, telling him it wasn't bad or anything, it took her another ten minutes before she gave it up and told her best friend of twenty years she had gotten married.

Not surprisingly, he was more pissed off he wasn't invited than he was she did it, though there was a pretty long, yet broken up, discussion about it. He was happy for her, and wished her and Bankotsu all the luck in the world. He didn't even bring up how little time there was between meeting and marriage, he honestly didn't care. Also, he knew if Kagome wanted to do something, she was going to do it regardless what anyone said about it. So, even if he had found out prior to the vows he wouldn't have been able to talk her out of it. However, though he also made a stab or two at her for being married to Richie Rich, the thing that had stuck with her all damn day was the passing comment Kouga made about shit like that changing people.

Maybe that was her problem. It wasn't like, where she was involved, Bankotsu had ever done anything to flaunt what he had other than buying her the necklace, but he had also made it clear before they got married he was going to spend whatever he wanted on her, whenever he wanted to do it, and maybe there was a part of her that was afraid Kouga had made yet another point about changing because of it.

When she discovered that package from the bank, and her mother wasn't home and didn't answer her cell, she didn't know what to do, which was why she then called Bankotsu. It wasn't even slightly his problem, and she didn't mean to make it his problem. She truly wasn't sure what she wanted him to do about it; whether or not she wanted him to come to the rescue. To deal with the situation so she didn't have to because she knew he would. But, whatever the reason she made that call, by the time she had gotten the problem out, she had enough of her frame of mind back to bulk at the notion entirely. She refused to be what Kyokotsu accused her of being, but getting slapped in the face like she had been, she lost her damn mind apparently, and barely over two days into their marriage, she did exactly what she said she never would.

She knew she was something of an oddity, positive any other girl her age would crawl over broken glass to marry a millionaire; visions of globe trotting adventures and fancy dinners, rubbing elbows with the most influential people in the country dancing behind their eyes. Then there was her, perfectly content waiting tables until it was time for her to take her place at Sunset as the Shrine Maiden. That had always been the path her life was on until she met Bankotsu, and she had been thrown for such a loop after that happened, she wasn't even sure what the fuck she was doing.

Ever so slowly she had allowed herself to more or less be adopted by Jakotsu, entertaining him when she knew better; giving in to him against her better judgement. And now... now she had face the consequences of her lapse in judgement, and wasn't sure she actually could.

But that wasn't fair, and she knew it. She could make all the excuses she wanted to, but that didn't mean they meant anything. The truth was, she wasn't forced to do anything against her will. She made her own decisions on everything that cropped up, including the part where she willingly married a millionaire.

Shaking her head with a sigh, she slipped her fingers into her hair and looked at the coffee table. "It's not... there isn't anything you can do. It's not you. It's all me and I..." Trailing off, she lowered her eyes more to look at the floor.

Looking at his wife for a moment, Bankotsu clicked his tongue, which to his shock caught her attention, so he tilted his head back slightly. "Come here." Waiting until she was close enough to do so, he sat forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, not just pulling her to him, but all the way onto his lap. Keeping one arm around her, he laid the other across her thighs once she was settled, and licked his lips. "Pride, it's a horrible thing. It makes very smart people make very stupid decisions. I will concede to the fact that, from your viewpoint, the timing of the discovery of that defaulted loan, _really_ sucks. But, at the same time, you have to know, that if I thought, for even a moment, you were only after money, I certainly wouldn't have pursued you in the first place, much less married you, guaranteeing you a shit ton of it. I don't like to be used. It makes me just as angry as being told no when I find out it happened. However, I have never once been concerned about that with you.

"Jakotsu might have made some very valid points during his little tirade, but he was wrong in the sense that I wasn't trying to get my way... exactly. I was, but not for the reasons he implied. I _want_ you to come to me when you have a problem so I can fix it. Fixing problems and cleaning up messes isn't just part of my job description as a husband, it's literally my pleasure to do it for you. Unfortunately, in the world we live in, especially in time sensitive situations like this one, sometimes the only way to fix it is to write a check. Trust me on this. I did it for Kyokotsu all the damn time, and honestly, if he wasn't my brother, he would have been out on his ass the first time I had to drop a quarter of a million bucks to pay off his gambling debts, and I did it on a regular basis for almost half a fucking decade before I said enough was enough."

Getting off topic, Bankotsu grunted as he shook his head. "Absolutely no one is as bad at cards as that fucker is. I have never seen someone turn a hundred dollars into thousands in debt as fast as he can. It's... absolutely astonishing. Though, not quite as much as when he used to come over with his hand out and a straight face, or the fact he still tries to with the same song and dance he always used on occasion."

With another shake of his head, Bankotsu returned his eyes to Kagome's as he wrapped and tightened his arms around her. "I'll tell you what; let's make a deal. Let me add you to my checking account, and if I think your spending starts to get out of control, I'll let you know." When she clearly opened her mouth to protest by the look in her eyes, he beat her to it. "I assume you're going to continue to give what you make at work to the shrine, right?" When she nodded in the affirmative, he cocked his head. "You don't live at home any more, so your basic necessities are now fully your responsibility. If you plan to give everything to the shrine, then what do you plan to live on, exactly?"

Thrown for yet another loop, Kagome's lips parted as her nose wrinkled. "Uhhh... I really didn't think this shit through all the way, did I?" When she found herself under the flat gaze of her husband, Kagome rubbed the back of her neck, she made a noise in the back of her throat. "I don't... know how comfortable I am with that just yet."

Bankotsu just shrugged. "Well, everything is a negotiation. We'll get there. But, out of curiosity, you do know I'm going to be calling Ginkotsu, right. If not tonight, then in the morning."

Lip curling, there was a slight pout on Kagome's face, but ultimately, she would rather not be so indebted to Jakotsu. So, instead of firing up another round to follow the cease fire, she grumbled. "Yes, I know." Then she pointed at him. "But I swear to god, Bankotsu, not a penny more, or else. It's already gonna take me forever to give that much back."

Dropping his head back on the couch, Bankotsu actually let out a loud groan. "Stubborn little shit." Picking his up slightly when he heard her giggle, he cocked a brow at her, grinning at her when she once again responded with a 'well, you married me'. Sitting back up, he set his forehead against hers. "You're certainly going to make life interesting, are you?"

Pulling her head back, she smiled at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're the one that said I was worth it."

His eyes turning to liquid, Bankotsu hummed quietly as he looked Kagome in hers, her nearly drowning in the crashing waves of his ocean colored orbs. His voice low, sending a tremor down her spine, he dipped his head enough to touch the tips of their noses. "You have, absolutely, no idea just how much you are."


	16. Chapter 16

With Kagome's bloated work schedule since Inuyasha vanished the moment his dad was paid back, it had taken her and Bankotsu nearly two weeks to come to an agreement they could both live with when it came finances. Over that time, there were several sit downs with Ginkotsu, where he once again brought up the drafting of a postnuptial, that was shot down by Bankotsu just as quickly as he had shot it down the first time, though very much to the irritation of Kagome, who thought it was a good idea.

In the end, and something Ginkotsu refused to be the one to point out if only to avoid another round with Bankotsu and just get shit done so the two could move out from under the cloud that Kagome placed over them, a postnuptial agreement was exactly what they came up with, only done verbally instead of drafting it to paper to sit in a file folder in a drawer in Ginkotsu office, though Ginkotsu did write it down for himself.

What they agreed to basically amounted to an expense account for Kagome, separate from the main checking account, where two thousand dollars would be transferred to once a month until such time Kagome was more comfortable having access to the kind of money Bankotsu had, or three years down the road, whichever came first. Three years from the date of its creation, that account would magically vanish, everything in it would go back to the main checking account, and Kagome's name would be added it. Over that time, any major necessary purchases would be taken care of by Bankotsu, and Ginkotsu would play the part of mediator if the two couldn't agree on what was considered necessary.

After the end of the three year limit, it was what it was as long as they both shall live.

What Kagome _didn't_ know, was after they came to their agreements, and during a meeting with his brother she wasn't there for, Bankotsu had redrafted his Will. To Ginkotsu's surprise, he hadn't actually left her everything, just the bulk of it, deciding not to completely cut out his brothers. He had, however, put a substantial lockdown on what Kyokotsu would receive in the event Bankotsu died first after seeing what he did with his inheritance after their parents died in the way of how he was allowed to use it. He had to use it to facilitate a standard of living that did not include mooching off others, and absolutely not infringing on what was left to Kagome.

He wanted all stocks, bonds, investment returns, CD, and whatever else tied his money up liquidated. His wife would receive all tangible property and three quarters of his monetary estate, while the remaining quarter would be divided evenly among his brothers. In the event of future children, Kagome would get half, his brothers would still share a quarter, and his children would share the remaining quarter; Bankotsu having no intention of having seven fucking kids to divide it between. His house was designed for two, three if he gave up his office, so unless there were multiple sets of twins, that was it. Beyond that, even with living children, he stipulated that if Kagome passed before he did, upon his death, everything he owned was to be sold off, his entire estate liquidated, and whatever she would have received were she still alive was to be donated to the Sunset Shrine.

The only part about it that got a raised brow from Ginkotsu, since it sounded pretty standard if not overly generous to siblings once children were involved, was that Bankotsu wanted the changes to go into effect immediately instead of tacking the three year agreement he came to with Kagome on everything else on those changes as well. Bankotsu's reason was simple. He learned at a relatively young age that you never really know when you're going to die, and he wasn't going to allow his wife to be left with nothing since the only reason he even had a Will while in his twenties was because of an ex-girlfriend. Despite the assurances from Ginkotsu he absolutely would not have allowed that to happen and would have made sure she was very taken care of, Bankotsu still told him to redraft the document as instructed and let him known when it was done so he could sign it.

It was probably due to the fact Bankotsu didn't tell her about the changes to his Will, mostly because he didn't want to have to explain why he even had one at such a young age, that once they completed their 'negotiations' and everything they agreed to was adhered to and put into place, it was like a switch was flipped somewhere in Kagome's mind, and she settled down. It had taken two weeks to work it out, another week for everything to be put into place, and in the week following that there hadn't been a single argument between them other than what to eat when Kagome said she was hungry and didn't know what she wanted.

To her, the biggest issue was taken out of the equation. There was no nagging in the back of her mind, no unsubstantiated fear gnawing at her. She just felt better about their situation; especially when she got to fire back against Kyokotsu after he found out about their marriage and once again made snide accusations against her, this time throwing in an additional one about her trapping Bankotsu with a baby.

While she did hold Bankotsu back, there was pleasure immeasurable in her eyes when she got to inform the assface that, while she agreed to spend her life with Bankotsu, she was absolutely not ready to be a mother yet, had the birth control implant in her arm to prevent that from happening, and had it since before she met him. Then, to be able to look him in the eyes and ask him how a two thousand dollar a month allowance made her anything other than Bankotsu's wife, and hear him trip over his tongue when he tried to come up with some kind of response to her? It made her smile really fucking wide. She wasn't usually a vindictive person, but that son of a bitch just pissed her off.

However, and much to Kagome's dismay, who was considered to be one of the city's most eligible bachelors does not permanently come off the market and that shit not get out. Over the month they had been married at that point, she thought she had been doing fairly well getting used to being part of Tokyo's elite, at least Bankotsu told her she was for the baby steps she was taking, but the first time she saw a picture of the two of them on the cover of a tabloid, the headline calling their marriage a 'Cinderella Story', while the article itself was more of a less than flattering 'prince and the pauper' tale, Kagome about hit the fucking roof.

Bankotsu, however, thought it was hysterical. When she showed it to him, he took it with a hard laugh, telling her sure, he had made the cover and editorials of extremely reputable magazines, but he had never been on a tabloid cover before, and he thought that shit was awesome. A stance of his in which Kagome very loudly disagreed. Though he kind of wanted to save it, he did end up throwing it away, because she absolutely did not, and then he explained to her that the stories in supermarket tabloids were literally only close enough to the truth to avoid a lawsuit for defamation, but were mostly garbage that were good for little more than kindling.

When it came the tabloid, she found out in general conversation with a regular diner at Kamano while she was working that one of the reasons Bankotsu was so excited about the cover was because that's how you knew you had 'arrived', or something to that effect. For the most part, outside of movie stars and those that actually lived their lives in the spotlight, someone had to do something completely insane to be worth the time to make up the lies that were encased in the stories. In this case, one of the richest men in the country met and married a Shrine Maiden within thirty days, which allows for a lot of speculation on their part, and as long as it remained speculation, they could use the story for months before they were proved wrong and moved on to the next poor bastard. While she had been slightly disheartened to hear it could be months before she stopped seeing her face in the checkout line, she was assured once a more reputable magazine picked up the story, the tabloids would stop almost over night.

On her way home that evening, she stopped and bought another copy of the stupid tabloid for Bankotsu to keep, that he actually framed and hung in his office.

Bankotsu waited six weeks after their wedding to, for him, very tentatively broach the subject of a honeymoon, not sure how she would react to it since she was still more or less against overly extravagant spending; at least overly extravagant spending on her. She didn't give a rat's ass what he spent on himself, usually just rolling her eyes at him when he brought something home or dropped a mint at the tailor. Yeah, she had calmed down with telling him no, but since they didn't have any of the events that preceded a marriage, including but not limited to an engagement party, an actual wedding, and the following reception, what he had in mind was pretty fucking spectacular, and he was learning she wasn't a huge fan of surprises, so just doing it would have gone over much like a lead balloon flies.

To his very pleasant surprise, she didn't ask him a single question about it, just looked up from the book she had been reading with a smile and an okay. However, though she didn't ask him any questions about what he had planned, she did tell him it couldn't be for at least two weeks, because that's how far out she already had her work schedule, and she needed to know how long so she could request the time off. Though she cocked a brow at him when he told her to take off three weeks, she ultimately just shrugged, returned her attention to her book, once again telling him okay and that she would put the request in the next time she went to work.

She had been more than positive she would get the time off since, over the little less than eight months she had been at Kamano, the only time she had taken off was the day she met Bankotsu, and then the following weekend for Ginta's funeral. She had gotten married on her day off and was back at work the next day, so that didn't even affect how often she was at the damn restaurant.

She did have to bat her lashes at Toga a couple of times to get him to agree to give her off a month's worth of Saturdays, but he did relent and gave her what she asked for under the condition she trained the new server he had finally gotten around to hiring to replace Inuyasha. She didn't really want to because training meant her schedule was going to either be completely thrown out of whack and changed, or she was going to be working nearly nonstop for ten days because trainees didn't work nights and Kagome was a closer.

She wasn't really sure why she did it other than the fact basically being blackmailed into training a new hire rubbed her the wrong way, but she ended up flexing a muscle she never thought she would flex when she looked Toga dead in the eyes and said, "Or, ya know, I can just quit because if you read the tabloids, you would know I don't really need this job anymore. Pretty sure I'll be just fine without it."

Once the words were out she could honestly not believe she actually said them, but once Toga got over his own shock at what she said, he made her a deal to avoid that. If she trained the new guy, she could have a full month off following the guy's last day of training. Even though she still didn't want to train the guy, she also didn't really want to quit, so she agreed to those terms, even knowing she was looking at working ten days straight, and at least seven of them being fourteen hour days. Toga set it up so the guy would train over the last ten days of the schedule that was already out, meaning she only had one day off before the multiple day stretch.

When she got home that night and she told Bankotsu what she said, still marginally horrified by it, he just looked at her for a moment before he snorted, smirking at her with a chuckle in his voice as he informed her he loved her just a little bit more than he already did.

Within an hour of the dude's first day at Kamano, Kagome knew the son of a bitch lied through his fucking teeth on his application and he didn't have a singular second of serving experience. How he made it through the interview, she had no idea, but he was her problem to sort out and honestly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to go ahead and quit, or punch Toga in the face.

Juromaru was nice enough she supposed, if not creepy in his interest in her family's shrine. Some of his overly probing questions had led to Kagome snapping at him, questioning how the hell he thought any of it was any of his business. She didn't particularly care for his answer of merely being interested in the history of the oldest shrine in the country, because what he was asking had nothing to do with the history. It had to do with the grounds themselves, and after the debatical of that bullshit loan she had eventually found out was taken out by her grandfather for restoration purposes before he died, she was far less than inclined to answer. Instead, she told him if he wanted a history lesson, there were plenty of books that outlined the history just fine, as well as an actual historical recount given twice a month by the shrine's Monk.

Six days later, she still didn't particularly care for the guy. It was because of that fact she didn't stop herself from counting down the hours, then minutes, until he left and her actual shift started or she herself got to go home. Also, as her marathon workweek continued, she started to contemplate how much she really wanted to return from the time off. She was already going to be scheduled off for a month, which would be plenty of time for a replacement to be found, and trained, before she would even come back.

Being Thursday, and one of her regularly scheduled days, Kagome was on a break between dealing with Juromaru and her actual shift when she saw Bankotsu walk through the door. She was parked at the bar, salivating over the liquor she wasn't allowed to have, waiting for her lunch. Sitting up as he walked closer to her, she smiled as she turned his direction. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Not saying a word in answer, Bankotsu merely closed the distance, wrapped his fingers around the base of her skull, dipped his head, and captured her lips with his. Hearing a soft moan at the action, he nipped her bottom lip, meeting her tongue head on, deepening the kiss for a moment before he pulled back, looking in her in the eyes, though he didn't move his hand. "Haven't seen my wife in couple of days. I was in the area so I figured I would stop by and hi." When she giggled quietly, a silly smile on her lips and said 'hi' back, he gave her another peck on her lips before he let her go and took a seat in the stool next to her. "You look exhausted, Pretty Girl."

Grunting, Kagome leaned back on the bar, propping her head up by her fist on her cheek. "I am, and I'm fucking hungry, too. There's a new cook in the kitchen that's about as useful as a sack of used condoms and slower than turtle in a tar pit. Night shift starts in like... twenty minutes, and I would really like to eat something before then since I won't be able to until after I got off."

Propping his foot on the rest of Kagome's stool, Bankotsu slipped his hand under hers on the bar and laced their fingers together. "What me to go get you something?"

Smiling at the offer, Kagome shook her head. "No. It's been like, fifteen minutes since I put my order in, so it can't be much longer. Besides, Sesshoumaru is on the floor tonight, so maybe he'll be nice and let me finish eating before I start taking tables again since I've been here since ten."

Smirking, Bankotsu leaned a little closer to her. "Oh, I guarantee he'll let you eat."

Face losing its expression, Kagome's voice also flattened. "Be nice. It's not his fault this guy I'm training is such a fucking disaster he actually _needs_ a six hour shift to get something right, or that the new kitchen hire is oblivious to ticket times. I'm positive they wouldn't even have been hired had they interviewed with Sesshoumaru and not Toga."

A completely empathetic look overtook Bankotsu's features as he propped his own head against his knuckles. "Is he really that bad?"

Pure and utter irritation settled on Kagome's face as she nodded. "Yes, he is really that bad. He's supposed to be able to do this job on his own in four days, and right now, I don't trust him to roll silverware without supervision." Moving the hand that was holding her head, she sat back up and ran her hand down her face, once again using it to prop her head up, only this time under her chin. "Honestly, as this point, I don't even know how much I want to come back next month. Like, seriously, I am legitimately starting to hate this place; which, ya know, really sucks because I used to love this job. Then Inuyasha vanishes and the only person that doesn't know he is never coming back is Toga, so he keeps him on the schedule, then needs the shifts covered because, shockingly, Inuyasha doesn't show up. Because of that, I've had what? Two day off in the last three weeks because, apparently, no one else is capable of covering? It's a bunch of utter bullshit."

Not releasing Bankotsu's fingers, Kagome actually just pulled his arms along with hers as she folded her forearms and dropped her head, resting her forehead on the pile of limbs. Sighing, she closed her eyes before rolling her head from side to side instead of shaking it. "I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm really tired."

If Bankotsu had a say, he would call it much closer to defeated if her body language was anything to go by. Leaving his foot on the railing of Kagome's stool, he slid off his own. Since his right arm was being held hostage, he used his left hand to tuck Kagome's hair behind her ear, and leaned to the side so he could see her profile. When she cut her eye to him, he smiled at her. "Baby, if you want to quit, quit. I'm certainly not going to tell you no. I would love to actually get to spend some time with you, especially since the only time I've seen you at all this week is when you're either crawling into bed or rolling out of it. Makes for a very boring personal life when your wife is never home."

Allowing her head to drop to the side and onto her cheek, she looked at her husband with an extremely flat look. "Seriously?"

Grinning wide, he chuckled. "Hey, you've always known I was an asshole." When he winked at her and she snorted in response, Bankotsu then sighed. "Look, Pretty Girl, I'm not going to tell you what to do."

A legitimate pout formed on Kagome's face as a whine covered her voice. "Why?"

Patience was certainly a quality he had learned since this girl came into his life. A look of subtle shock flitted through his eyes as he scoffed. "Because I'm not your daddy." Then, he paused in contemplation. "I could be your Daddy, through."

Releasing Bankotsu's hand, Kagome sat up with a disgusted sound slipping past her lips. Setting a hand on his chest, she shoved him backwards. "Ugh... get away from me, you freak."

Laughing outright as he caught his balance, Bankotsu laced his fingers together around the edge of the bar. Still chuckling slightly, he grinned. "Kagome, it's not my place to tell you what to do. If you don't like your job anymore, then fucking quit. So what? If you're just burnt out and overworked since Toga has taken advantage of you for the last three weeks, then don't. Whatever. I don't care either way. What I do care about is the fact you're here more than home, and I'm both selfish enough and a big enough asshole to make mention of the fact I don't like it. Listen, you have no stake in this place for the amount of stress you're under and, I'll point out, this place functioned just fine before you started and will do so again if you never come back."

Accusation entered Kagome's eyes as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. "So, you do want me to quit."

There was no denial on Bankotsu's part, either. "Of course I want you to quit, but that's not what you asked. You asked why I won't tell you want to do, and the answer is simple; it's not my decision, it's yours. You're the one that has to decide when you've had enough. But, since you brought it up, I want you to say fuck it and come home with me. Ya know... just to throw it out there."

Kagome grunted. "Yeah, I bet it's 'just' for that reason." When Bankotsu's response was a shrug, she sighed and shook her head. "I can't... do that. I'm super frustrated, but I can't just walk out." Looking up at Bankotsu through her lashes, she gave him a small smile. "Besides, after tonight, it's only three more days, then I don't have to think about this place for a whole month."

A near predatory smirk pulled at Bankotsu's lips as he leaned forward, stopping just shy of touching their noses. His eyes were on fire and his voice went straight to Kagome's core. "With what I'm going to do to you over the next month, you're not going to be thinking about anything but the next round."

"Hey guys."

Both Kagome and Bankotsu cut their eyes to Kouga, who was now behind the bar.

Narrowing his eyes, Bankotsu licked his lips with a hum. "Timing, Kouga, has never really been your strong suit, has it?"

Kouga, looking between the pair, taking in the fact Kagome was fifteen shades of red, croaked. "My bad."

Fighting the overwhelming urge to fan her flaming face, Kagome turned to look at her friend, and quipped. "Mmmhmm, sure." Then she lifted a brow. "Hey, Kouga, what time is it?"

Opening the doors to the fridge that held the kegs, he bent at the waist to get a look at the lines as he answered. "Four o'clock or I wouldn't be here."

Eyes closing and face falling into her palms, there was a whine to rival a puppy on the air. "Damn it. There goes lunch."

Head popping up into view, Kouga frowned. "Onigumo strike again?" When he saw Kagome nod as she climbed off her stool, he hummed. "What did you order? I'll let you know if it finally shows up. Maybe it'll even be slow enough to actually eat it."

Giving him a half smile as she picked her apron up off the bartop and set it place around her waist, she answered as she tied the straps. "Just a grilled chicken sandwich." Then she hummed. "If nothing else and it doesn't, maybe after the rush Sesshoumaru will let me reorder and eat it in the kitchen, since, ya know, Kinka actually makes every ticket that comes out of the printer."

There was a tickle in the back of Bankotsu's mind at the name, but when he couldn't place it, he looked back and forth between Kouga and Kagome. "Onigumo?"

Pulling her phone out of the pocket of her apron it was in, Kagome nodded as she set the ringer back on silent. "The new guy in the kitchen." Putting her phone away, she crossed her arms. "Thankfully, I think he's just doing soups and sides for the next hour before his shift ends since I saw Kinka come in, so hopefully, the actual customers will get their food in a timely fucking manner."

"Hey, Kagome."

Turning her sights from her husband to the hostess, Kagome smiled. "What's up, Nat?"

Natalie, the hostess, smiled back as she pointed her thumb over her shoulder toward the kitchen. "Kinka asked to see you really quick."

Kagome nodded her understanding. "Tell him I'll be right there." Then, as an afterthought, "and you can put me on the board." As the hostess scampered off to relay the message and then to take her place as lord over how busy of a night she was going to have, Kagome turned back to Bankotsu. "Well, I need to get back on the floor. I'll see you at home, okay?"

Something still not sitting right with him, but having no idea what it was, Bankotsu's brows drew down, but he nodded just the same. "Yeah, okay." Grabbing her wrist and pulling her to his chest, he waited for Kagome to look up at him before dipping his head and pressing his lips to hers. When he broke off the kiss, he only lifted his head enough to look her in the eyes. "Think about what I said, alright?"

Indulgent would be the best way to describe the way Kagome looked at Bankotsu. "I will." Popping up on her toes, he kissed the corner of Bankotsu's mouth, smiled, and pulled out of his grasp. "I love you, and I'll see you later."

Bankotsu turned and watched as Kagome walked away, readjusting her apron as she did so. Brows still down, he licked his lips, though his words weren't loud enough for her to hear. "Love you, too."

Not going after her and letting her vanish into the sea of table on her way to the kitchen was one of the hardest things he had ever done. A heavy rock of foreboding settled low in his gut, growing larger the further away she got. Still, he nodded when Kouga asked him if he was alright. "I'm fine." Then, he turned his sights on the bartender. "Do me a favor and make sure she eats something at some point, even if you have to call me to bring her something."

Snagging the receipt from the printer for the server ordered drink, Kouga nodded. "No problem." Then, folding his arms on the bar, Kouga gave him a much harder look. "Now, what's wrong?"

Nose wrinkling, Bankotsu shook his head. "I have no idea. I know I've heard the name Onigumo before. I just can't remember where."

Snorting quietly, Kouga chuckled. "Doubt it's this one. This is a thirty-five year old moron that doesn't know his head from his ass. He's been here for two weeks and still can't even produce a simple chicken sandwich."

That didn't make him any fucking better. Deciding he would, for once, take Jakotsu up on his standing offer for dinner, he tapped the polished lacquered of the bar. "I gotta go. I'll see you later."

Kouga touched the side his forefinger tip to his forehead and then pointed it at Bankotsu as he headed away from the bar. Watching from his drinkwell, he saw Bankotsu stop and glance toward the kitchen for a short moment before he turned to the exit. Clicking his tongue, he himself looked to the kitchen, or more specifically Kagome, who could be seen talking to the head chef. Shifting his eyes back and forth between her and the front door, his lips pursed as he pulled out the bottle of gin from the well.

He didn't have the same gut check Bankotsu seemed to have, probably because he's been dealing with the new cook for a while, but he resolved to keep a little closer of an eye on Kagome for the night. The girl was running on nearly empty as it was, and if the concern he saw in Bankotsu's eyes when it came the new guy in the back was taken seriously, it wouldn't be difficult to make sure she wasn't allowed to linger in the kitchen until the stupid bastard left.


	17. Chapter 17

It was coming up upon the end of the first hour into her night shift, and Kagome was in a much better mood than she was when it started. This, though, was mostly due to Kinka passing her bites of food whenever she was in the kitchen under the guise of a taste test for quality that kitchen protocol demanded before anything was sent out. Kinka was a genuinely good guy, and took as good of care of the wait staff as he did the customers, and tended to take someone making 'his' kitchen look bad very personally.

He was far less than impressed after Kagome spoke to him at the start of her shift about whether or not she received the staff meal she ordered, and since then, he had nearly gone out of his way to put something in her stomach as often as he could get away with doing it. It actually worked out a few times for the better when her nose wrinkled due to an overwhelming amount of salt. Upon his own inspection, Kinka would grunt and roll his eyes before snapping at Onigumo for his heavy handed bullshit. It was no secret that if Kinka had the power to do so, he would have fired the useless bastard by his second day.

Within the first half hour of returning to the floor, Kagome's stomach had stopped trying to consume her spine, though she was certainly still hungry enough to eat her sandwich she was promised after dinner.

As far as the rest her shift had gone, for being Thursday, it was actually surprisingly slow in comparison to how it usually was at that time. It wasn't dead, she was busy, but instead of being slammed, it was steady. She also wasn't dealing with huge parties like she normally was, only having mostly two or four tops, which made dealing with the tables easier. She knew that shit wouldn't last, it was only a matter of time before the flood gates opened and she was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, but for being so close to five, the fact she was still able to breathe was something of a miracle.

Also, once her near starvation was seen to, she got really excited. Thursday meant Jakotsu would be showing up sometime around six, and there was something she wanted to talk to him about. Even though he never said anything about it, she knew him well enough to know he was quite upset about not being able plan a wedding or a reception, because there was literally no time between Bankotsu asking and them getting married, and that was what she wanted to talk to him about. With all the extra shifts she had worked, even after giving what she usually gave the shrine, she had amassed a pretty decent amount of money. Since she knew she wouldn't spent everything she had in her account from Bankotsu, once that was added to the pile, she felt she could pay for a pretty decent after party for everyone that was still pretty pissed off over the whole eloping thing; either before she and Bankotsu left for their trip, or when they got back.

She didn't know how much time he would need for something like that, or exactly how much it would cost. She just had to make sure he understood it was a surprise so he couldn't ask Bankotsu for any additional funds. He had to work with what she had, and that was it.

In the kitchen after she was given another table, she was getting the drinks when he heard her name behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she cocked a brow at Onigumo. "Yeah?"

The saucier pointed to bowl that was on the pickup line. "Can you do me a favor and run this to table twelve? It's already been sent back twice for being delivered cold, and if it gets sent back a third time, the boss will lose his shit."

Blinking at the statement, because to her knowledge that had never before been a complaint, she nodded as she went back to gathering what she needed for her own table. "Sure. Get it table ready, and I'll take it with me." With her back turned, she didn't see the smirk that pulled at the cook's lips when he said 'no problem', she just loaded her tray with what she needed before sliding the tray off the counter, settling it on the palm of her hand, and once it was balanced so she could carry it, turned and made her way over to the pickup line.

Grabbing the plate the steaming bowl was placed on, she looked at Onigumo. "You said twelve, right? Which seat?" At his nod, and answer of two, she then asked him to make sure the actual server of the section knew she was running it so wasn't being looked for, and made her way out of the kitchen.

Since she had to pass her table she was getting drinks for, she stopped only long enough to tell them she would be right back before making her way to the other side of the dining room. Seated at the table was two women, neither one looking out of place, and both of them looking very excited. With the way seating was decided, and always went from left to right, Kagome didn't need to ask who it was that ordered it. She just smiled as she set it down on the in front of the woman who, for whatever reason, was wearing red contacts. "Here you are, Ma'am. I hope it's to your liking this time, and I do apologize for it being cold before."

Looking at the server, Kagura smiled back. This had taken weeks to come to fruition. Since she hadn't been able to find out Bankotsu's girlfriend's name at the club, she had spent a lot of time trying to figure out who she was. It wasn't until she saw the bitch's face on the cover of a tabloid announcing the fact she and Bankotsu had gotten married she found out who she was. The article had given her all the information she needed. Who she was, where she worked, the two things needed to facilitate a run-in to put her plans into action and get her out of the way.

Not allowing the opportunity she had put so much effort into to slip through her fingers, Kagura remained perfectly pleasant as she held up one finger. "Excuse me."

Pausing, Kagome turned and went back to the table to find out what the problem was. If the chowder had been sent back two times before this, and there was another problem with it, she gave the menu a quick run through to think of a viable alternative to it in an effort to satisfy this really picky customer. Even still, there was a smile on her face as she spoke. "It's not still too cold for you is it?"

Kagura slowly shook her head. "No, temperature wise, it's perfect now. But, you see, the problem is, I requested no..." grabbing the sides of the bowl, she threw the intentionally tampered with contents of the vessel right into Kagome's face. "...onions."

The scream that ripped from Kagome's throat, followed by the crash of the tray she had been holding as she grabbed her face, was instant. It also sent a shockwave through the entire restaurant; the startled patrons, kitchen staff, Kouga behind the bar, and other servers dropping whatever they were holding when the sound was made.

Stumbling backwards, Kagome's foot caught on the leg of a chair, and she went down hard on her side, but the pain of that contact was overshadowed by the burning on her face. The noise from the others in the dining room was drowned out and lost on her as she continued to scream, curling into a ball on the floor with her knees under her chest.

Natalie, one of the few who saw what happened, was quick to jump into action as she pulled the key from its place under the hostess stand. Grabbing the phone, she called the emergency line as she locked the doors and, as a result, the one who just assaulted Kagome, inside. As she reported the incident, she looked the bitch dead in the red eyes as she blocked the exit, making sure she knew the police were also coming.

Kouga, once he shook off the shock, hurtled the bar, and took off across the dining room. Shoving his way through the people that gathered around, he dropped to Kagome's side as the other servers forced the people that had gathered around back a few feet. Grabbing a glass of water off the closest table, and one of the silverware rolls, he flicked his wrist to rid the cloth napkin of its content, and plunged the cloth into the water glass. As easily as he could, he rolled Kagome to her side and, grabbing her wrists, pulled from her face. Her screams had died down to whimpers, but started right back up when Kouga gently began trying to remove the whatever the fuck was on her face.

Things were such a flurry of pandemic activity, and his attention to lasered focused on Kagome, Kouga hadn't realized the ambulance had arrived until Kinka grabbed him from behind and yanked him out of the way. Twisting himself free, he looked around himself, seeing everyone staring at either him, Kagome, or the little bitch that was now surrounded by others to keep her present since the front door was unlocked.

Glancing down at Kagome, Kouga swallowed hard, getting an eyeful of what her skin looked like once EMS took over and removed the rest of the glop on her face.

Hand covering his mouth, Kouga gulped as he used his other hand to pull his phone out of his pocket. Scrolling the contacts, he found the one he was looking for, hit send, and put the device to his ear. As Kagome was being put on the stretcher, he heard her husband's voice in his ear, and h gulped again.

"There's been in incident."

 ***X***

"Here you go, Doctor."

Giving the new girl in the lab a smile, Suikotsu took the paperwork, but his brows drew when he double checked he was given the right patient information. Not seeing his initials where he should have, he glanced back up, but the patient name caught his eye. His own widening, he let out a very loud expensive before turning and taking off like a bat out of hell.

Normally, Suikotsu was a very calm, level-headed man, even in the more dire situations. In this case, there was no standing on principle as he knocked people out of his way, taking the stairs up two floors so he didn't have to wait for the elevator, and didn't stop with his frantic footwork until he was literally grabbed and held back from entering the emergency room trauma bay.

The trauma doctor that was put in charge of Kagome looked Suikotsu in the eyes, remaining calm in hopes of settling his colleague. "It's not one of your brothers."

Suikotsu, looking back at him, blood pumping so fast through his veins he was having a hard time focusing, held up the lab work, and snapped back. "I'm aware."

Though slightly caught off guard, Dr. Mason still held Suikotsu back. "How did you even get those?"

There was only a slight glare left on his face as Suikotsu answered. "The new girl in the lab read the wrong line and gave them to me because we have the same last name. Kagome is my sister in-law."

"Which mean you still cannot go in there. Family cannot treat family, Suikotsu, you know that. You will just get in the way." Slowly taking the paperwork from the clearly frustrated pediatric surgeon, he then set his hand on Suikotsu's chest and pushed against him. "She's in good hands."

It wasn't until Dr. Mason was turned and almost back to the opening to bay when Suikotsu called out to him. "What am I supposed to tell Bankotsu?"

Looking over his shoulder, the trauma surgeon cocked a brow. "That's she's in good hands."

It was painful to refrain from rolling his eyes. Suikotsu settled for just shaking his head. "You know that's not going to cut it."

Rubbing his lips, Dr. Mason clicked his tongue as he handed off the labs, telling the resident to begin debridement, and slowly made his way back to Suikotsu, lowering his voice. "I'm still waiting on the films for her arm, but that's most assuredly fractured, if not completely broken. That's not what I'm concerned about, though. The burns are significant and cover the left side of her face, neck, and chest. Her left eye was involved, and it's extremely inflamed, but the extent of that damage isn't known just yet. It's been flushed and will remained covered, but all we can do there is hope for the best. She began to have difficulty breathing in transit, though from the burn or from shock or something else, I'm not sure yet, but she's been intubated to protect her airway. You know the burn protocol probably better than any of us. Debridement, assessment, graphs if necessary, sterile bandages, transfer to the burn unit."

Crossing his arms, Suikotsu licked his lips. "Will she need grafts?"

Dr. Mason nodded. "Several, I'm sure. Probably from her back or upper thigh. Hakushin is on his way, and we'll know more when he gets here. For now, there is nothing you can do for her but let us do our jobs. Once we know more, I'll let you know, but you know you can't see her right now."

Crossing his arms, Suikotsu cocked a brow. "I can't treat her. There's no rules about not being able to see her."

To which Mason disagreed. "Unless it's to the detriment of her care, and it is. You might treat more burns than all of us put together, but that's no better than not knowing what the fuck you're doing since this isn't a pediatric. Now, since she's not a pediatric case, get out of my ER, Akasaki. I'll page you when Hakushin is done."

Once again waiting until his colleague was almost back into the bay, Suikotsu called out again. "Is there anyone here for her, yet?"

Looking back, Mason glanced up at the ceiling in thought before he nodded. "Yeah. A guy was on the ambulance with her. Co-worker I think."

Knowing almost immediately who that was, Suikotsu turned and headed for the waiting room, not at all surprised to see Kouga pacing the length of the floor. Giving himself a moment before squaring his mental shoulders, he then stepped through the doors, and called out to the man that looked like he was losing his mind. "Kouga."

Whipping around, Kouga about sagged to his knees at the sight of a familiar face. Heading Suikotsu's way, he began to fire off the expected questions, not stopping until Suikotsu held his hand up.

Not really wanting to say the words, knowing how close this guy was to Kagome, he still had to. "I can't answer your questions. Twenty years of friendship doesn't make you family, Kouga, I'm sorry."

Crossing his arms tight over chest, Kouga ground his teeth together. "Can you at least tell me if she's going to be okay?"

Casting his eyes to the ceiling, Suikotsu shook his head. "No."

A switch flipped in Kouga, and he finally lost his precarious grip on his temper. "That's nine kinds of fucked up. I know I'm just a friend, but the fact you won't even tell me that is fucked up."

Trying to remain calm, but inside not doing so well, Suikotsu glared at him as he crossed his arms. "That wasn't a denial, Kouga; it was your answer. No, she's not going to be okay. Will she survive? The odds are in her favor, but it's really going to depend on the severity of the overall damage. Now, what happened?"

At the question, Kouga threw his hands up. "I don't fucking know!" Shaking his head, he recrossed his arms. "It wasn't even one of her tables. I was behind the bar, so I didn't see it with my own eyes. I just heard the scream and saw what followed, but what I overheard from those that did was the bitch threw a bowl of clam chowder in Kagome's face, bitching something about no onion." Sighing hard, Kouga licked his lips. "I know we serve our shit hot, but fuck. I've spilt soup on myself before and yeah it hurts, but it's never been that bad. And I noticed when I was trying to wipe it off, it was thicker than normal, too."

Filing that tidbit of information away for later evaluation, Suikotsu focused on the other, less severe injury. "How did she hurt her arm?"

Scratching at his forehead, Kouga hummed. "Um... she stumbled backwards when it happened and her ankle caught the leg of a chair. She went down pretty hard, and since her hands were on her face, she didn't catch herself. What was weird was, she was only covering her eye."

What Kouga didn't know was, with that last statement, he told Suikotsu just how bad the burns were. Letting out a sigh through his nose, he looked at Kouga again, keeping what he knew to himself for the moment. "Did you call anyone?"

There was a hard cringe on Kouga's behalf when he nodded. "Yeah, I did; before we left the restaurant." Looking at the clock on the wall, he continued talking. "Her mom should be here in a few minutes." Returning his eyes to Suikotsu, he cringed again. "And Bankotsu is already outside."

Starting at being told that, Suikotsu blinked. "Outside?"

Nodding, Kouga rubbed the back of his neck. "He's on the phone, and didn't sound overly happy with who it was that called. I told him I would come get him when there was news. So... should I go get him?"

Scratching between his eyes, Suikotsu wrinkled his nose as he shook his head. "No. It's best he hears this out there. Less shit he can fuck up."

Kouga wasn't so sure of that. Bankotsu was ridiculously protective of Kagome, and once he found out what happened to her was intentional, someone was gonna get got.

Even still, he followed Suikotsu outside, each one looking a direction for the elusive husband, Kouga seeing him first and tapping Suikotsu on the arm to get his attention.

Looking where Kouga was pointing, Suikotsu watched for a moment as he baby brother paced the same stretch of ten feet, but what held his attention was the cigarette that was between Bankotsu's fingers. Running a hand down his face and then crossing his arms, he shook his head. "He quit smoking two years ago."

Being a smoker himself, and the one that gave Bankotsu the cigarette, Kouga pursed his lips before he looked up at the disappointed face. "I think... under the circumstances, you can overlook that."

Letting out a slow, hard sigh from his nose, he figured Kouga was right, but if it looked like he was picking the habit back up, he would absolutely say something. Instead, keeping his arms crossed, he called out to his brother. "Bank!"

Whipping his head around at the sound of his name, Bankotsu stared at his brother for moment, the voice of Sesshoumaru going ignored during the contest. He knew he was gonna get his ass reamed for smoking, but at the same time, he also didn't care. Instead, he told Sesshoumaru he had to go, closed his phone, took the last hit off the cigarette, dropped the butt to the ground, and stepped on it as he made his way over to his brother.

He hadn't calmed down a bit since Kouga's call, and he hadn't been in the waiting room long enough to find out what happened before Sesshoumaru called with that exact information, though secondhand because he was late to work and didn't see it happen either, but with the added knowledge of who it was that responsible. He knew he had heard the name Onigumo before. It was Naraku's first name he had only heard once in passing nearly six years ago.

When he was close enough, he didn't even greet Suikotsu before he snapped at him. "Well?"

Uncrossing his arms, Suikotsu scratched the back of his head before licking his lips. "I haven't seen her yet." At the shocked, yet very angry look he got, he shrugged. "What do you want me to do, Bank; she's family. I'm not allowed to be present during initial treatment or have any subsequent part of her care. It's dangerous."

Refusing to believe his brother didn't browbeat someone for information on Kagome, Bankotsu crossed his arms, but they were loose and his voice wasn't as pissed off as his expression would have suggested. "Come on, Sui, you have to know something."

Biting into the back on his bottom lip, Suikotsu glanced off to the side for a moment before he looked back at his brother. "I know a few things if you think you're ready to hear them."

It wasn't like he blamed his brother for the situation, and he really didn't mean to take shit out on him, but that didn't stop him from raising his voice a little louder than he should have. "How the fuck do you get ready for this, Sui?" Just like he didn't blame his brother, he didn't Kouga either, but just like that didn't stop him from yelling at his brother, it also didn't stop him from wrenching his arm free of Kouga's and using it to shove the man, maybe harder than he meant to, into the side of the building with a 'don't fucking touch me', before he returned his attention to his brother.

Rubbing the back of his head that made contact with the side of the hospital, Kouga grunted but didn't say a word. If it was him and Ayame was the one the in the ER, he probably would have decked whoever it was that was trying to calm him down. Clearly, Bankotsu was trying to keep as level of a head as he could, but between fear and uncertainty, it was also clearly not easy.

Trying to think of a way to give Bankotsu a little more time, Suikotsu very gently coached his brother back inside. "How about, we wait for her mom to get here, and I'll tell you both at once. While we're waiting, there are some forms you need to fill out, and others that you need to sign." It was his hope that giving Bankotsu something to focus on for a few minutes would ultimately allow him to finish calming down. There were going to be a lot of medical decisions to make over the next few hours, and considering those decisions were his since Kagome wasn't in the position to make them for herself, he needed to have a clear head when making them.

And that's exactly what he did. Going with his brother and Kouga back into the waiting room, he went to the desk with Suikotsu, told the nurse who he was, and he was handed a stack of clipboards to deal with. Of the seven he was handed, three of them were consent requests for treatments Kagome already had, so those were easy. A quick signature and a hand off; bam, done.

To the shock of both Kouga and Suikotsu, he had no problem, what so ever, filling out Kagome's medical history. As a matter of fact, the only thing he didn't know was the exact date she had the birth control implant put in, so the best he could do there was month and year. Kouga had figured he would need some help with as little time as they had been together, but one glance from Bankotsu through his lashes over the clipboard, and Kouga shut up.

He was on clipboard six of seven when Kagome's mother came running through the door. Setting the clipboard in his hands down, he stood from his chair and interrupted her path to the triage desk. When she looked at him, he sighed, but just folded her into his arms when she wrapped hers around his neck.

When she pulled back, Mrs. Higurashi looked up at her much taller son in-law, tears in her eyes. "How's our girl?"

Bankotsu couldn't do anything but shake his head slightly. "I don't know yet, Hitomi. We were waiting for you."

Hitomi, swallowing hard, went to open her mouth, but saw a man in a doctor's coat behind Bankotsu, and misunderstood who he was. Stepping around her son in-law, she clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "Doctor, how's my daughter?"

Looking behind him, Bankotsu kind of cringed, but reintroduced Mrs. Higurashi to Suikotsu. "That's my brother."

Slightly embarrassed, Hitomi blushed slightly as she lowered her arms in front of her thighs. "I'm sorry. It's just... there are so many of you and my memory is not what it used to be."

Smiling at the delightful woman, Suikotsu chuckled quietly, despite the situation. "You're not the first to say that, Mrs. H; and I doubt you'll be the last."

Waving a hand, she wouldn't hear that from Suikotsu again. "Hitomi. We are family, after all." Once she got a nod, her face became nearly desperate. "Is there anything you can me?"

Nodding once again, Suikotsu held a hand out to the chairs. "There is. If you want to sit down, I'll tell you what I know."

Doing as instructed, and giving Kouga' shoulder a squeeze as she past him, she took a seat next to Bankotsu, wrapping both her arms around one of his.

In response, Bankotsu brought his other arm across his chest and set his hand over Hitomi's as he looked at his brother.

Kouga took up a place behind their chairs, and set his hands on the backs.

Pulling a seat closer to the small group, Suikotsu sat down and propped himself up by his forearms on his thighs and laced his fingers together between his knees, moving his eyes between Bankotsu and Hitomi. "Okay, first off, what you two are going to need to keep in mind through all of this is, Kagome is in the absolute best hands she can be."

Hitomi's brows drew down. "But you're not involved?"

Suikotsu shook his head. "I'm not allowed to be. She's my sister in-law, and it's against hospital rules for family to be involved in the care of a family member. Judgement can become clouded, and it becomes a very dangerous situation for the patient. But, I know everyone on her case personally, and they're the team I would want on any of my brothers. She's in good hands with them."

Once he saw a nod of understanding, he continued. "When I spoke to the lead doctor on her case, he was still waiting on the films, but it looks like she possibly broke her arm when she fell. Compared to the rest, that's not a big deal. Now, since I haven't seen her, I don't know the full extend of the burns. I just know they are on her face, her neck, and her chest. Talking with Kouga, though, it's sounds very likely she sustained third degree scald burns. Now, medically speaking, a scald is considered a second degree burn, but scalds have their own chart of severity, and that is determined by how many layers deep into the skin the burn goes. The deeper the damage, the higher the severity level."

It was Kouga that interrupted that time. "But you don't know for sure, right?"

Relenting, Suikotsu shook his head. "No, I don't." Then his eyes hardened. "But my specialty is pediatrics, and I treat so many thermal burns with toddlers, it would blow your mind. I know what I'm talking about." Returning his eyes to Bankotsu and Hitomi, he licked his lips. "What you need to understand about thermal burns is, it takes literally seconds to fly through the degree chart with a scald, and it takes all of five seconds with a liquid of a 140 degrees to cause a very severe burn. The hotter the liquid, the less time it takes, and the average temperature restaurants serve coffees, teas, soups, any hot liquids really, is between 160 and 180. At those temperatures, it's nearly instantaneous."

Pausing a moment to figure out how to phrase the next thing, and figuring there wasn't a nice way to put it, he just went with whatever came out of his mouth. "Now, I don't want to say the only good thing about third degree scalds, because there isn't really anything good about that kind of burn, but they go so deep so fast, the nerves die very quickly, so they don't hurt for very long."

There was some kind of hope in Hitomi's voice at that point. "So, she's not in any pain?"

Wincing slightly, Suikotsu made a noise in his throat. "It's... hard to say. It is still a very significant burn, and like any other burn, the further out you get from the center, the less damage is done to the skin and the underlying nerves. Burns hurt. It just depends on the amount of still live but damaged nerves that surround the burn itself."

Clearing his throat slightly, he swallowed hard. "One of the biggest issues she is going to face is infection. They were doing debridement, which is where they remove the dead skin to try and allow new growth, but that means there is no natural layer of protection to keep out dirt, bacteria, viruses, anything. Depending on how large it is, everything can be done right, and Kagome still get one just during the time it takes to change the bandages."

During Suikotsu's explanation, Bankotsu had remained completely silent. He had just taken his hand that was covering Hitomi's back, and propped his temple against his fingertips, listening to what was being said. At that point, his eyes closed, and since his brother had been paying very close attention to him, it didn't go unnoticed. When he was asked if he needed a break, he shook his head and reopened his eyes.

Even still, Suikotsu waited a long moment before he licked his lips, giving all three present a minute to absorb what was said before he got to the next thing he knew. "Now, because of the burns on her neck and chest, she has been intubated."

That, was where Bankotsu finally joined the conversation. "She can't breathe?"

Suikotsu was very quick to shake his head. "No, not at all. It's precautionary. In the ambulance, she began to have some difficulty breathing, so when she got here, the tube was put in to give her doctors control of her airway. I'm positive it won't stay in for more than a couple of hours once they know how bad the burns on her neck and chest are. The only reason I told you was because it's likely to still be in when she's taken up to the burn unit, and since that's when you'll be allowed to see her, I didn't want you to be surprised."

Suikotsu watched as Bankotsu sagged in his chair and grunted. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that." All his brother did was flap a hand at him, so he concluded what he knew. "The last thing I was told about was, her eye was involved. I haven't spoken to the ophthalmologist, so I don't know the extent of that. But, the eyes are... a miraculous part of the body, and they do heal themselves with time if they receive the proper care."

Hearing his pager beep, he glanced down and pushed the button to light up the screen, his lips pursing at seeing the code for the ER. Releasing his pager, he returned his eyes to Hitomi. "I gotta get back to work, but I'll be around for the next seven hours if you need me to clarify anything you're told." Then, he looked at Bankotsu, "A word."

Setting his hand on Hitomi's knee, Bankotsu gave it a squeeze before he stood from his seat and followed his brother towards the doors that separated him from his wife and crossed his arms when Suikotsu stopped, licking his lips. "All of that... that's worse case, right?"

Slipping his hands into the pockets of his lab coat, Suikotsu sighed quietly. "Mostly. You can't get much worse, scald wise, than third degree territory. The actual extent, however, will be up to Hakushin to determine. Once he finishes his assessment and knows how deep it goes into the skin, that's when decisions will need to be made, which is what I wanted to talk to you about. I _can not_ get physically involved in Kagome's care. This hospital will revoke my privileges in a heartbeat if I try. Until the breathing tube comes out and Kagome regains her legal ability to make medical decisions for herself, those decisions will fall on you to make for her. As a physician, however, I can tell you, you will have a lot information thrown at you very quickly, and you'll be expected to make your choices she's going to have to live with in less time than you would like. If you don't know, or want a second opinion, page me. I can't touch her, but I can help you."

Running his fingers through his bangs, Bankotsu glanced off to the side, his eyes going distant for a moment before he looked back at his brother. "I just want to know when I'll get to see her."

Looking through the window into the ER, Suikotsu pursed his lips, then clicked his tongue as looked back at his brother. "I had a toddler, four years old, brought in about a year ago after pulling a pot of boiling water off the stove, sustaining severe scalding to her legs. The parents sat in here for six hours before they got to see their daughter. Kagome's burn is to her face, Man, so you will need to be very patient. You have to understand, Bank, these kind of injuries can very quickly become life threatening situations."

It was like he was punched it the gut. Lips parting and eyes going wide, surprisingly enough, he was able to keep his voice down. "You're telling me she could die?"

Looking at the floor, Suikotsu didn't answer for a moment. Instead, he tapped his foot lightly on the floor and flicked his eyes up. "I'm telling you this is bad, and anything other than that outcome is a blessing." Then, once again looking through the window into the ER, he hummed. "Hakushin should be about done, so I'll go have a word with him and find out what his plans for her are. If possible, I'll see if I can talk him into letting you see her."

Bankotsu didn't say anything, just nodded and leaned his shoulders against the wall next to the doors his brother vanished behind, looking up at the ceiling. His mind was flying a mile a minute, too fast for him to keep up, the implication his wife could actually die due to the actions of his ex-girlfriend weighing so heavy on him, he felt sick. But... he couldn't even get angry right at that moment. He was so utterly terrified, that was all he could focus on.

Closing his eyes, for the first time since his parents died, he sent a real prayer to the Kami that Kagome would make it through this, and not divorce him when she found out.


	18. Chapter 18

Suikotsu was standing and talking with Mason when Hakushin left the trauma bay Kagome was in, closing the sliding glass door behind him. Removing the surgical made and pulling off his gloves as he walked, his voice caught the attention of his colleagues. "Well, luckily, I won't have to remove her eye just yet, but that's about the only thing I can say right now."

Suikotsu, brows drawing, looked at the double board certified, ophthalmologist and plastic surgeon. "So, there isn't anything you can do?"

Throwing his gloves away, Hakushin slipped one hand into his coat pocket, holding Kagome's chart with the other, a frown on his face. "Nothing right at the moment, no. See, the problem is the inflammation in the eye. It's far too susceptible to infection to cut into it, not to mention, the surgical site around it being what it is, it's just... it's not a good idea. There might be a one or two things we can try to help restore vision later on down the road, but nothing we do will ever make it what it was, and that's only in the very unlikely event the cornea wasn't completely destroyed by whatever was thrown into it. I don't have to remove the eye unless it gets infected, but I'm not confident in there actually being function, or really anything we can do if there isn't." Then, his face pinched slightly as he glanced at the name on the chart in his hands, before returning his eyes to Suikotsu. "None of which, it seems, I should have told you... unless she's yours."

Crossing his arms, Suikotsu shook his head. "Bankotsu's." Which he saw Hakushin's nose wrinkle, he sighed. "He's in the waiting room."

A knowing smirk pulled at Hakushin's lips as he crossed his arms, holding the chart in his hand against his chest. "And let me guess... you just couldn't help yourself."

Suikotsu wasn't even nice about it. "He is my brother, and they haven't been married long."

Eyes closing, Hakushin groaned out loud. "Ugh... newlyweds. They just had to newlyweds." Shaking his head, he looked at Suikotsu. "Well, you opening your mouth will certainly make my job easier. I'm either confirming what you said, or I'm going to have really good news for him."

Face losing its expression, Suikotsu snorted without really meaning to. "You just talked about her being lucky to keep her eye. What kind of good news could you possibly have?"

Nose wrinkling and lips pursing, Hakushin hummed. "Touche. Well, seems I have some bad news to confirm, and more to add."

Before he was able to move more than a foot, Suikotsu stopped him. "All he wants to know is when he can see her."

Head tilting to the side in thought, Hakushin looked over his shoulder at the curtain of the trauma bay. After a moment, he shrugged and looked back. "Now."

Not hiding his shock, Suikotsu actually jolted slightly. "Really?"

Again, Hakushin shrugged as he nodded. "I need to talk to him about what's going to happen anyway. Provided he's properly prepared for what he's going to see and he stays out of the room? I don't see any reason we can't have the discussion we need have with him in here instead of the waiting room while we wait for the surgical suite. Besides, maybe once he sees how bad it is, he'll be less likely to argue with my treatment plan."

Eyes narrowing and crinkling in the corners, Suikotsu was slightly less than cordial at that point. "Are you telling me you intend to use shock value to force my brother into agreeing with what you want to do to his wife, instead of giving him whatever options are on the table and letting him decide?"

When Hakushin hesitated to answer, Mason joined the conversation. "I kind of have to agree with Akasaki on this one. It really does sound like that's what you're intentions are."

Eyes darting back and forth between the two other doctors, Hakushin grunted. "With as time sensitive as burns are, and with how limited the options..."

Suikotsu cut him off. "Limited time and options doesn't negate the part of any treatment plan called getting informed consent. There is never only two options. There is always at least a third, and if you don't give them that third option, it's a malpractice lawsuit waiting to happen. And I'll tell you this right now. If you don't give him all his options, I will make sure he knows, and he's not nearly as nice as I am."

Blinking once, Hakushin scoffed. "Are you threatening me?"

Suikotsu just shrugged. "It's called patient advocation. You should try it some time."

Face falling into a glare, Hakushin snapped. "This is exactly why family shouldn't be involved in the care of a family member. Emotions cloud your judgement and prevent you from making rational decisions."

Jerking back, Suikotsu scoffed. "I beg your pardon? You want to talk to a pediatric surgeon about emotionally charged situations? The guy who deals with wailing babies and terrified toddlers who have no understanding of what's going on, or why you're hurting them more than they are, all the while having scared parents screaming at you to help their baby, or in some cases save their baby, and still be able to stay calm enough to think clearly and rationally? At this point, this has nothing to do with the fact Kagome is married to my baby brother and everything to do with the fact you just told me you intend to use the terror of a new husband against him to get your way, regardless of if it's actually the best way or not. I assure you the only emotion I feel right now is anger, and whole lot fucking of it, you self-important son of a bitch."

The emergency room attending looking back and forth between the two surgeons, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed. This was certainly less than professional on both their parts, and Hojo wasn't having this shit in his ER. A glare on his face, he stepped between the two men, but kept his own voice low. "I don't know how you two handle professional disagreements in your own departments, but in this one, we take patient privacy very seriously. We don't argue the course of treatment in full view of others, and we keep our voices down." Pointing at Suikotsu, "she is not your patient, therefore your opinion doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot right now." Then, he turned his sights on Hakushin. "Regardless of family ties, Akasaki treats more burns in a month than the rest of us do combined in a year, so, let's pretend it's your wife in that bed and show her husband his due respect, shall we?"

Uncrossing his arms and slipping his hands into his pockets, he hummed. "This is what we're going to do. Since she has a tube down her throat, you have to have the husband's consent to do anything, and it will be fully informed, or I swear to the Kami themselves I will have you before the Board faster than you can fucking blink, Hiten; test me. There is at least twenty minutes before the surgical floor will be ready for her. That is more than enough time to present all options, both good and bad, to Bankotsu so he has a full understanding of what the situation is before he's presented with forms to sign. Don't think for a second you're going to get away with dirty tricks when a doctor's youngest brother is your patient's husband. Whether you like it or not, your patient is by extension related to one of our doctors. His position as Head of Pediatric Surgery aside, his sub-speciality makes him one of the leading peer recognized burn specialists in the country. If it weren't for the marriage, he would be lead on this case, not you, and you know it. Deal with it and move on.

"Now, since no one here is actually stupid enough to think Bankotsu is going to sign anything without first speaking to Suikotsu, and because this is such a time sensitive matter, I'm going to suggest him remaining present in the bay when the discussion is had to answer whatever questions are asked, and to give a second professional opinion as a burn specialist only. Hands off, Akasaki. That is your family in that bed, and no amount of expertise in the area gives you the leeway to undermine a colleague and sidestep the rules that are in place for very good reasons. If she's not actively trying to die in front of you and you so much as lift a finger to physically interfere in her care, I will have your privileges here wrapped up in a bright red fucking bow, understood?"

While the two surgeons glared at each other, they did both agree to the terms, making Mason nod. "Look, guys, this isn't about someone getting a one-up over the other; this is about making sure that young lady gets the best care possible, even if pride needs to be swallowed and the treatment plan either tweaked or left alone. She's going to have plenty enough other problems and hurdles to face for a very long time to come. Squabbling doctors shouldn't be on the list, and I shouldn't have to point that out." Pointing a finger at Suikotsu, "stay in your lane and keep your hands to yourself. If you overstep, I will have you fired." Pointing to Hiten, "keep in mind you're not the one that has to live with the outcome of whatever decisions are made. If you attempt to manipulate her husband and maim that girl in the process, I'll have more than just your job; I'll have your fucking licence."

Dr. Hojo Mason had been around long enough to recognize a very bad situation when he saw it, and this was one. On the one hand, the patient was extended family to the most qualified doctor to treat her, which made him all but useless in her care, but refused to stay out of it. On the other, there was a very qualified doctor that, unfortunately for the patient, felt he had something to prove to his colleagues as the newest among the ranks of the hospital that expressed to her extended family he was willing to ignore his oath to do it, which was why her extended family refused to stay out of it.

The only person that was going to lose in this situation was the patient, and Hojo wasn't going to have it. Deciding the only thing he could do to protect the girl was to involve the Chief of Surgery himself, Hojo headed to do just that, leaving Suikotsu and Hiten to deal with Bankotsu and Hitomi.

Which was not an easy task for Hiten Hakushin.

For the most part, Suikotsu didn't have to say a fucking word. Kagome's mother fired off question after question, forcing Hiten to defend every aspect of his treatment plan, and if he tripped over his answer, or hesitated to give an answer, then Bankotsu was up to bat, wanting to know why that was such a difficult question for him to answer in a very unrelenting manner. Since it was Bankotsu Hiten needed to convince, that was where he tried to focus his attention, but Hitomi, refusing to be ignore when it came to her daughter, wouldn't back off. It became a very vicious cycle when Bankotsu then started to ask Hitomi's question with a harsh bite to his voice, which Hiten found hard to answer without relenting what he wanted to do.

It didn't come as any real surprise to Hakushin when the two family members turned their sights on Suikotsu, but what did shock him was when Suikotsu shrugged a shoulder before he answered them. "It's a decent plan. Ballsy and extreme; certainly not something I would do, but overall, it's a decent plan." When asked what he would differently, he sighed, telling both they wouldn't like his answer, but when prompted to give it anyway, he licked his lips. "Even from here, I can tell you without a single doubt in my mind, her vision in the left eye is gone, and nothing we do will restore it. She's looking at massive grafts taken from different parts of her body, which means more open wounds that have the high ability of getting infected as well. She's going to have to be put on immunosuppressants because of those grafts so they aren't rejected, which will make her even more susceptible to infection then she already is, and with the massive inflammation of the eye? The fact he thinks he can save it at all is, in my professional opinion, a gross overreach. The nerves in her face are shot, the muscles are damaged, the bone itself could possibly be compromised; all of which have their parts to play in her being able to move the left side of her face. I hate to say it, but to be perfectly honest, Bankotsu, I wouldn't waste time, energy, or resources trying to salvage an unsalvageable function and instead focus my attention on trying to salvage and restore as much facial function as possible. This is... bad, and worse than I thought it was when I talked to you before. But, you have all the information now, so it's up to you. No one can make this decision for you."

Noticing that Bankotsu had checked out to do what he was told and consider one of the more, agreeably, extreme aspects of his plan, Hakushin leaned next to Suikotsu on the window into trauma bay, and crossed his arms, keeping his voice down when he spoke. "That was surprisingly harsh."

Suikotsu, however, shook his head in disagreement. "No, what's surprisingly harsh is a twenty-three year old is going to lose her eye, and nothing will change that. What's surprisingly harsh is this twenty-three year old will carry numerous scars, both inside and out, for the rest of her life. What's surprisingly harsh is this was done to her on purpose. What I said wasn't surprisingly harsh; it was a direct answer to a question I was asked, and unlike you, I don't dance around my answers to confuse families into agreeing with me. Since this is my family, why don't you just shut the hell up and stop giving them hope where you know there isn't any."

Hiten snorted with a shake of his own head. "Again, this is why family shouldn't be involved. Fear leads to being too conservative, and the one that suffers is the patient."

Glaring at the impertent little bastard, Suikotsu scoffed. "Don't even try it. You know you can't do shit; you told me as much before you found out this was my sister in-law. Now you're trying to backtrack and overstep. Think about it, you daft bastard; I am family, as has been pointed out. Don't you think I want to agree with you? Don't you think I wish there was something that could be done? I do, but I'm here as a burn specialist. I know you can't save her vision. You know you can't save her vision; at least not right at the moment, yet, you're willing to sacrifice the restoration to the function of her face to prove the point you're in charge here and I'm not gonna fucking have it. I'm not even talking about making it pretty. I'm talking about just making sure she can move it, because what good is a working eye she can't open? What good is showing the size of your balls by cutting into her eye and ultimately end up having to remove it when it gets infected?

"It comes down to this... I was asked my professional opinion by a patient's husband and her mother, and I gave it after informing them they weren't going to like it. I didn't tell them anything I wouldn't tell a perfect stranger. That said, however, if you think I wanted to tell them I wouldn't waste my time fucking around with Kagome's eye, you're an idiot." Cocking his head to the side, he pursed his lips. "Kagome is pretty small, so what do you think? 15... 17 percent coverage? Cut off for visitors in the burn unit is ten so it'll be... mmm... roughly eight days or so before they can get close enough to see you fucked up to keep the risk of infection down."

Glancing away from his brother and down to the shorter surgeon, he sighed. "You need to man up and tell them exactly what you told me before you found out she was my sister in-law because, if they decide on going through with your plan, all you're going to do is compromise the integrity of her overall recovery, and you're not the one that's going to have to live with it."

Looking up at Suikotsu with a sidelong look, Hiten grunted. "You really don't think I can do everything I said I can, do you?"

There was no hesitation on Suikotsu's part, either. "Oh, I know you can't, and what's more is, so do you. That's really neither here nor there, though is it? This isn't as straightforward as giving someone bigger tits or a flatter stomach, changing the shape of a nose or cutting off a double chin. This isn't altering the outer appearance of someone who wanted the alteration, it's an assault with very permanent consequences that you are toying with.

"The fact is, you're making outlandish promises when you know you can't do anything at all other than full debridement for a least a couple of days while you try to find suitable donor skin because there isn't enough skin on her body for as many grafts as she's going to need. Once that's done, you have to pump her full of antibiotics before you kill off her immune system so she doesn't reject the grafts and cross your fucking fingers. Then, you have to do the grafts, and that's certainly not going to be a one off procedure. After the grafts have taken, the wound starts healing, the risk of shock is gone and infection as minimal as possible, only at that point can any discussion of trying to restore her vision take place, and that's only if infection doesn't take her eye first because we're talking weeks from now, most of which she won't have an immune system, making something as simple as a fever potentially lethal if you can't find the reason for it fast enough.

"We know all of this needs to be taken into consideration and hard decisions need to be made, but no one can be expected to make rational choices for someone else while under the weight of all of that information. The best that can be done for her here is to take this one decision at a time, because we know how fast shit can change. I am here to tell you, Hiten, the more you have to change your already agreed to treatment plan, the less likely you become to get consent when you need to change something, or Kami forbid an emergency arises, because you lose their trust with every single one. They begin to question your every move, and you spend more time defending yourself than you do treating your patient. Trust me on this. I work with the least trustful people on the plant... parents. If I can retain the trust of a first time mother with a very sick newborn, surely you can handle a new husband with a severely injured new wife."

Scratching between his eyes, Hiten sighed hard. "Yeah, but who am I actually dealing with? A new husband or his overly knowledgeable brother? Honestly, Suikotsu, I don't care if you want to play the part of consultant from now until discharge. I'm not stupid enough to think your brother isn't going to ask your opinion on every fucking thing I say. The problem is going to come when you disagree with everything I have to say, because then hands are going to be tied, and something bad will happen."

Suikotsu just rolled his eyes. "I agree with ninety-five percent of your overall plan. The only thing I don't agree with at all is wasting time that should be spent restoring as much facial function as possible on something that has less than a .02 percent chance of even being viable throughout the entire treatment process. Think about it, Man. The only way to restore vision is to cut into the eye. You do that and now you have an active surgical site on a patient that has to go on immunosuppressants, who is already at a massively increased risk of infection because of the size of an open wound. That in and of itself is a recipe for a nasty situation without adding a unnecessary fucking surgical site to the mix. I suppose if we're being honest, I also think you have a little bit of gadure dreams when it comes to your presented timetable, but I did mean it when I said you have a decent plan. I agree with most of what you want to do. I just think you need to rearrange your priorities and spread it out so you don't end up sending her into shock with everything else going on. Burn treatments are a marathon, not a sprint. If you rush through things, you'll hurt her worse than she already is and being blind in one eye will become the least of her problems. If that happens, it will be all your fault, and I'm slightly annoyed I need to tell this to a plastic surgeon."

Then, unable to help it, a chuckle slipped past Suikotsu's lips as he turned his head slightly and looked back at Kagome through the window. When there was a pissed off demand as to what he thought was funny, he grinned at his glaring colleague. "Oh, just looking into the future, that's all."

Glare not lessening, Hiten snapped at him. "About?"

Grinning wider, Suikotsu shook his head. "Just that if you think dealing with me or Bankotsu is hard, you're out of your mind."

There was something like foreboding in his gut when Hiten's lip curled. "What are you talking about?"

Another chuckle sounded in Suikotsu's throat. "You haven't actually had the pleasure of dealing with Kagome, yet."

It would be another twelve hours before Hiten received that pleasure, and within the first ten minutes, he wished with everything he had he could go back to dealing with her husband. From the moment he walked into her room in the burn unit, she flat out refused to cooperate until she was allowed to see her mother, which sent the two into a tale spinning circle because her mother had been picked up from hospital by her brother hours before. When she was told that, she switched her sights from seeing Hitomi to seeing Bankotsu, and another round was started because he had been talked into going home to get some sleep around midnight.

What it ended up coming down to was Hiten demanding someone page Suikotsu, and him leaving her alone until he could offer her some kind of familiar face. Since it was only going on six in the morning, it would be another two hours before family would be allowed on the floor, and they still wouldn't even be allowed in the room with her until after the grafting process was started.

Hakushin knew she perfectly understood the concept of infection, but she was scared, injured, and isolated; the trifecta of sending anyone into a panic attack.

Even though he had only left the hospital a couple of hours before the page, Suikotsu came right back when he got it. After the situation was explained, and he was told Kagome was refusing everything until she got to see either her mother or her husband, he suited up and went into her room alone. It took him the better part of twenty minutes to do it, but he did finally get her to calm down enough to listen.

Laying in her bed, a soft cuff restraint on her right wrist to impede on her ability of rolling onto her left side, only able to see as far left as her nose, the heavy scent of antiseptic, and the ringing beeps of all the machines in her room, Kagome wasn't just scared; she was terrified. She remembered what happened, and was able to answer the few questions that hadn't been answered up to that point, but it didn't seem like anyone could return the favor.

All she did was deliver a bowl of fucking soup, and now here she is, listening to two different doctors telling her she has catastrophic burns and wasn't allowed to see anyone. Which she hardly felt was fair to be honest, because she didn't even know who that woman was; much less why she would have done what she did. She couldn't imagine someone being so pissed off over onion, which she should have been told when she ordered it was part of the recipe and there wasn't anything that could be done about them, that they would throw near boiling hot chowder in someone else's face.

As she continued to listen to Suikotsu and Dr. Hakushin explain the scope of the burns, Kagome's heart sank further and further toward her stomach. When she began to ask the expected questions, she got the shock of a lifetime when it turned out Dr. Hakushin was the one willing to downplay or skirt the answers while Suikotsu was not even slightly inclined to do so. He was blunt, straightforward, and in one or two instances, almost mean in how direct he was.

There was a part of her that appreciated it, but most of her just bulked at it.

The longer the conversation continued, the more Kagome's stance began to firm she needed to talk to Bankotsu before anything else was done. She would absolutely admit to being overly emotional, and maybe those emotions were affecting her judgement, but that didn't stop her from firmly planting her foot straight up both doctors' asses and refusing any further treatments until they figured out how to make that happen. When she had enough, she just rolled her head to the side she was allowed to lay on, and closed her eye, steadfastly ignoring both voices trying to reason with her.

It was with a hard sigh Suikotsu moved away from the side of the bed, crossing his arms as he approached Hiten. Though he kept his voice quiet, it held a bite. "I don't want to hear shit about it. I will hurt you."

Hiten rolled his eyes as he shook his head. "No grounds to declare incompetence. Patients can refuse treatment for any reason at any time, and since the tube came out, she's lucid, she grasps the information she's been told so far, there is no reason withhold her legal right to make medical decisions for herself, and she is also well within her rights to revoke any consent made on her behalf. We can't touch her until she says otherwise, so we better figure out how to regain her consent for treatment, or within maybe... five hours, we won't be able to start the grafting process anymore."

Waving Hiten out of the room, Suikotsu followed, pulling off the mask he was wearing, a thoughtful look on his face. "She's only in isolation due to risk of infection, right?" When Hiten nodded, Suikotsu crossed his arms. "How about, I get Bankotsu in here now, and we do a blood draw to check his white count. If it's in normal ranges, we'll know he's not carrying anything he can pass to her that he's unaffected by. Then, we take his temperature, and if that's also normal, we have him scrub, gown him up, go over the rules of not removing his mask, not to touch the burn site for any reason, and not to touch anything other than her without changing his gloves first. By the time all that's done, it should be pretty close to visiting hours. We won't let him stay long, but hopefully, he'll be able to talk her into letting you do what is you have to do to get her ready for grafts."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Hiten made a face. "I think it goes against every policy and procedure this hospital has."

Grinning wide, Suikotsu pulled off his static gown and gloves, dipping his head and whispering in his colleague's ear. "Tell me again how being family makes one 'conservative'." Throwing his coverings in the waste, he called over his shoulder as he walked down the hall. "Page me when you make your decision."

Sighing hard, Hiten looked into the room, taking in the near defeat on the face of woman that resided inside before turning and calling after her brother in-law. "Being overly brazen is just as dangerous."

Having absolutely no idea what to do, Hakushin sighed to himself, crossing his arms and leaning his shoulder on the large window of Kagome's room. Propping his head against it, he watched her shift about, pulling at the restraint on her wrist that was intended to prevent her laying on, and ultimately rubbing, the left side of her face. It was certainly not ideal to have to restrain anyone, but there was little choice as far as doing so with her.

Never once had he gotten his ass reamed over a patient like he had with her, and it wasn't even Suikotsu that was doing it. Once he said his peace in the ER, he returned to his own department, and any page was answered by phone call. It was her mother and husband that had been putting him through the ringer. It certainly wasn't an uncommon occurrence for family members to attempt to put themselves at some kind of ease when it came to how their loved ones were treated, but it wasn't really something he was used to. The vast majority of his patients did come to him of their own volition, and very few things they wanted from him couldn't be reversed if they weren't happy. In this case, whatever he did was going to be the final result, and honestly, it was a pretty humbling experience.

Shifting his eyes from Kagome to the bags that were hung, he figured he had about an hour to figure shit out before the fluids ran out and would need to be changed. Deciding to get some coffee while she settled down before he tried again to reason with her without putting any additional strain on her or putting her at an even greater health risk, he pushed himself off the window and headed for the Doctor's lounge that was just outside the unit.


	19. Chapter 19

Over the time Kagome spent in isolation, she learned one very important thing about herself; she detested isolation.

It wasn't just being left by herself with nothing to keep her company but the constant beeping of the machines. It wasn't the being alone for hour after hour because it wasn't safe for her to have visitors. It wasn't the half a world around her that completely vanished from existence if she looked too far left.

It wasn't just the absence of interaction, be it with people or her surroundings, it was deeper than that. It the absence of _everything_ , and it was driving her fucking crazy.

The therapist she had been forced to talk to a couple of times said it was normal to feel so different after such a traumatic experience, to feel a little off following such a drastically life-altering event. She was convinced her therapist was insane. If he wasn't, if he were sane, he would be able to grasp the fact half her problem was loneliness, being left alone all the time, and she didn't like it. Maybe he was right about her perception on life changing when some stupid bitch decided to attempt to melt half her fucking face off, but Kagome was also pretty damn sure she was allowed to have a slightly less than rosy outlook on certain things when looking at the world around her after that.

She didn't just lose her skin and muscle function when she had that soup thrown in her face, she lost a part of herself. It took away her ability to see the good in everyone, to give people the benefit of the doubt. It destroyed her optimistic view on life, and the longer the silence stretched, the longer all she had to keep her company was the beeping of the machines, the deeper she sank into the depression she was told came with having everything in her life change so fast.

There was nothing that could be done about it, though. The worse case scenario happened and she picked up an infection somewhere between the burn unit and the surgical suite, which led her to be put in her nice little isolated hell. It wouldn't have happened if she still had her immune system, but she didn't, because it needed to be suppressed if she wasn't going to reject the grafts, which were needed if she was going to avoid getting an infection.

She had been told things were going surprisingly well for the circumstances. She was soldiering through her doctor's plan better than pretty much anyone thought she would, herself included. She was on graft 7 of 12, and then she got an infection, and all that could be done is continuous high-dose antibiotics, antibacterial ointments, eye drops that felt like fire, a finger crossing prayer to the Kami, and, apparently, iso-fucking-lation.

The bacterial infection was discovered seven days ago in what was probably the worst way it could be. Her previously dry, but more importantly healing, burn wound became wet and omitted an odor that actually made Kagome wish the searing to her face would have destroyed her ability to smell instead of her ability to see. The last thing following a whirlwind of activity that scared the shit out of her was Dr. Hakushin taking away her allowance to have interaction with someone besides himself, nurses, Suikotsu, or her insane shrink, and over the last seven days, if it wasn't a matter of life or death, she was left alone.

She knew why, she did; she just didn't understand why, if she already had an infection, what harm could interaction possibly cause. Even when Hiten came in he didn't stay longer than necessary, her shrink dressing up like he was going to space or was concerned about catching the damn plague. It was ridiculous in her mind, but Dr. Hakushin was extremely protective of the door to her room, and she hated him for it as much as she appreciated his dedication to keeping her alive.

Opening her eye, she let out a sigh when she heard the door to her room open, followed by the overly exuberant 'good morning' from Dr. Hakushin, prompting a much harder, louder, and far more irritated noise to slip past her lips. She didn't move when he stepped into her limited line of sight, and she certainly didn't return his greeting.

Hiten, however, just looked down at Kagome, a wide grin on his lips. "Looking good this morning, Hot Stuff. How are you feeling?"

Glaring at the masked covered face to the best of her capability, Kagome quipped back. "Perfect."

Chuckling quietly, Hiten crossed his arms. "Glad to hear it. How's your stomach? Still queasy?"

Licking her lips, she grunted. "Every so often, yeah."

Nose wrinkling, Hiten set his gloved hands on the railing. "Mm... that sounds unpleasant, aannnnd... quite unfortunate." He watched Kagome's eye close as she let out a noise that said she understood what he meant, but he said it anyway. "Nausea is a sign the infection is still present. But..." waiting until she was looking at him again, he smiled at her. "But, intermittent nausea means it's beginning to clear. So, this is what we're gonna do. We're going to give the antibiotics another twenty-four hours to keep doing their job, and reevaluate in the morning. If, before then you can go twelve hours without either puking or wanting to puke, we'll work on getting everything back on track, and hopefully in a couple of days, we can get you out of here and back to the burn unit. Maybe... we can even try this visitor thing again."

Once again watching as Kagome closed her eye without saying anything, Hiten sighed and leaned his weight on his forearms on the railing of Kagome's bed. "Look, Kagome, I don't know what you're going through, and I'm not going to stand here and pretend I do. I will say again, though, that you're very lucky you picked up a bacterial thing and not a viral thing. Viruses for you are bad, because viruses don't respond to antibiotics. That said, I'm sure the last few days have royally sucked, and I'm sorry for that. So sorry for it, in fact, I brought you a present."

Looking at her doctor through a narrowed eye, Kagome's voice was flat. "Cause your presents are always _such_ a joy to receive."

Grinning again, Hiten snorted. "Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine today, Hot Stuff. I don't know who pissed in your Wheaties this morning, but you should learn to be a little more gracious and lot less sarcastic." Pointing over Kagome's shoulder, he smiled behind his mask, waiting for the reaction.

Kagome looked at Hiten for a moment, her eye still narrowed before she sat up and twisted around, having to all but roll completely over to see what he was pointing at. Her heart actually stopped in her chest, the machine she was hooked up to proving it, when her eye fell on the one person she wanted to see more than anyone else. Bankotsu's name slipping past her lips as a tear broke from her eye, she whipped back around, staring at her doctor in wide eyed wonder. "But... but you said..."

Cutting her off and holding up a finger, he clarified. "He can't come in. You have an infection, Kagome; an infection I will happily point out if necessary does actually still have the ability to kill you. You have no immune system so you can get another one, a worse one, or just to put it out there, a deadly virus. Only the Kami themselves know what is on his clothes, his skin, him in general. It's not safe for you while your already compromised system is even more compromised, so I meant it when I said it would be a couple more days before we revisited this particular topic. But, talking with the shrink, he seems to think you're depressed, pushing the border of... I'm not really sure what he said, honestly. I stopped paying attention at that point because clearly, he's an idiot."

Unable to help it, Kagome snorted harder than she meant to. "You'll get no argument from me, Dr. Hiten."

There was a deep chuckle in the back of Hiten's throat. "That aside, I don't think your problem is depression; at least not the way he's trying to make it sound." Taking a seat on the side of Kagome's bed, he sighed quietly, lacing his fingers together around his bent knee. "The fact is, you're going through a severely traumatic experience, and circumstances being what they are, you're dealing with it mostly alone. Now, I haven't been where you are before, so I can only imagine how frustrating that shit has to be, but I know why he brought up depression. It's actually quite normal for burn victims to develop all kinds of mental issues, including depression, anxiety, social despondency to name a few. The list goes on, and doesn't get any prettier, so..." reaching into his lab coat pocket and then held out the blue package from the sterilizing machine. "...I brought you a present."

It was slow and unsure, but Kagome did finally sit up and take the offering. Shock from seeing Bankotsu still flowing through her veins, she honestly didn't think Hiten actually _brought_ her a present. She actually thought her husband being just outside her room was what he was referring to, but looking at the item in her hands, she wasn't sure what to do with it after she opened it. Biting into her bottom lip, she moved her eye from the item in her hands to Hiten, her voice amused but confused. "A walkie talkie?"

Nodding once, Hiten leaned forward, adjusting the neckline of Kagome's hospital gown, popping the leads off the electrodes to the heart monitor. "They don't have many tiny working parts, and can actually be sterilized whereas that would kill a cell phone, and an unsterilized cell phone could kill you, which is why you can't have yours." Standing from the bed and dropping the leads over the monitor itself, he crossed his arms. "Go on, Hot Stuff. Just remember, if you start to feel dizzy, or if you think you're going to get sick, you need to push the button on the wall and get back in bed if you can. If you can't, well... aim for the wall. You might get lucky and roll to the floor. I hear that landing hurts less." With a wink when she rolled her eyes, Hiten moved around the bed, holding out his hands to help Kagome to her feet. Once she was steady, he backed away and headed for the boor, but glanced back. "The nurses will be in about an hour to give you your eye drops, change the dressing, and do a blood draw."

Looking at the child's toy in her hand, Kagome stopped her doctor before he left the room. "How long can he stay?"

Hand on the door knob, Hiten smiled. "Visiting hours are over at nine." When he saw her look to the clock on the wall outside the glass wall to her room, he spoke again. "This evening. Enjoy your morning, and barring any issues, I'll see you this afternoon."

Nodding to him, Kagome scratched her unbandaged cheek, once again biting into her lip. It was weird; up to that point, she would have given anything to see Bankotsu, to talk to him, and now that she was given a way to do it, she was slightly terrified. Giving herself a moment, she closed her eye, letting out a slow breath before turning her attention back to the window of her room. Why she called it a window, she didn't know, but she also wasn't sure what else to call it. She supposed window would work, but really, the entire wall was glass because it was easier to clean than plaster and paint.

Taking her time, because she did feel a little unsteady on her feet, Kagome made her way across her room, playing with the walkie talkie, her eyes on the one in Bankotsu's hand. He didn't seem to be in any rush, and that was a good thing, because even when she got to the glass wall, she had to sit down because she was kind of dizzy.

Putting her back to the side wall, she closed her eye, taking a couple of breaths, letting them out slowly as she inched herself to sit down. Once she was down, she drew her knees to her chest, dropping her head between them, covering her mouth with her hand, convulsively swallowing back the urge to vomit all over the floor. She jumped slightly when Bankotsu's voice came from her hand, asking if she was okay, and she nodded in response, holding up one finger to ask him to hang on as she battled back to the nausea.

And he did, sitting on the floor himself, one leg bent on the ground and the other propped on his foot. This wasn't the first time he'd seen her since she was taken out of the burn unit and put in an isolation room, but it was the first time she saw him. He hadn't stayed long the three times he had been to the hospital since she was moved, mostly just getting updates on how she was doing because he didn't want to upset her, but was unable to stop himself from taking a moment to peek in her room. She was always sleeping and there was never a good reason to wake her, so he just watched her for a couple of minutes before leaving and heading over to Sunset Shine to bring her mother and little brother up to speed.

This morning, however, things changed when Hiten met him at the entrance to the hospital itself, asking him for a couple of minutes of his time to float an idea by him. During that conversation, Hiten had apprised him of what the therapist seemed to think was going on because Kagome didn't want to answer his questions, nor did she want to talk about what that son of a bitch was demanding she talk about. Then, Bankotsu got to listen to him go on and on about how his wife's assigned shrink was trying like hell to push medications Hiten thought were completely unnecessary.

Though he made it clear he didn't disagree with the assessment that Kagome was depressed, he very much disagreed with the reason behind it, which was why Hiten wanted to talk to him. He was running out of excuses to stop Kagome from basically being doped up all but against her will. While he would come to lie to her about it, he didn't do the same with Bankotsu, and when Bankotsu asked how the hell that was possible, he was flat out told all the shrink had to say was she was suicidal and he could pump damn near whatever the fuck he wanted in that girl's veins, and do so without consent as long as he says he determined her to be a danger to herself.

Which was where the walkie talkies came in.

At first, after what he was told, he spent several minutes cursing this bastard shrink up one side and down the other, but once he calmed down, he listened to the surprisingly simple plan Hiten had come up with to prevent that from happening. It was Hiten's belief that her ability to trust someone she didn't know was shattered, and she just needed someone she knew around. Their conversations wouldn't be the most private they've ever had, but her doctor wasn't going for perfect at the moment, he was going for anything he could use to prove Kagome wasn't so stuck in her own head forced medicating came off the table.

It had only been a week since she was denied visitors, but she was the definition of a 'people person'. In the burn unit, she had been allowed to see anyone she wanted as long as they wore a static gown, gloves, a mask, and followed the few rules about what they were allowed to touch and what they weren't. To have that taken away in the blink of an eye and then get cut off from all contact from everyone? That would have been hard on anyone.

The thing that struck Bankotsu more than anything else was the first time he saw her after she was admitted when he bit the bullet and told her who it was that hurt her. She was, in his opinion, overly gracious about it. Even before she was told about the expired restraining order, she refused to let him shoulder even an ounce of blame for what happened. However, that was after she looked him dead in the eyes and asked him if he knew it was going to happen. While he bristled at the question, he had no idea, and when he told her that, she then asked him how it could possibly be his fault. She told him had she listened and left when he asked her to, it wouldn't have happened at all, though she did concede to the fact if someone was so determined to hurt someone else, they were going to succeed eventually.

He had no idea how she was going to react when she found out it was his ex at that table, but he absolutely did not think she would be so forgiving towards him. He asked her why she didn't blame him, and she turned it around and asked him why she should. It wasn't like he hid anything from her. He told her about the psycho before so she knew the bitch was out there somewhere. She hadn't asked him what she looked like, or what her name was, and she couldn't blame him for that. That was her decision, and she was also the one that decided not to ask anything else about their past relationship after he told what he did at Shikon, even knowing there was some manipulation involved to get him there. He told her then all she had to do was ask and he would tell her whatever she wanted to know. Thing was, she didn't want to know anything about it, so she never asked, and again, that wasn't on him. The only thing she wanted to know at that point was if he would still love her no matter the outcome, and when he told her until his dying breath, she refused to talk anymore about it.

As Bankotsu waited for his wife to win her battle against her stomach, he tilted his head to the side, just looking at her. She didn't have some kind of dressing around her neck or on her chest, so he got to see the end result of all the different procedures and treatments she had undergone so far. Those two wounds were never as bad as the one to her face, and from what he was told, they were as healed as they were going to get. The skin was white and flat, a darker pigment blotching here and there as you looked from center of the site outward, but he was also told as time passed, the coloring would settle and though it would always be seen, it wouldn't always be so obvious. The left side of her face where she was burned was covered as it always was, a netted stocking, for lack of a better term, held it in place to avoid the use of tape on extremely delicate skin. The right side of it was cut away, the netting left going around her forehead and chin, and her hair was tucked up in a cap to keep it out of the way and off the bandages.

It took Kagome several minutes to get her stomach back down where it belonged, and she shifted around on the floor a little bit to both get more comfortable and so she could turn her head enough to actually be able to see her husband without laying her bandages against the wall, which she was positive would get her yelled at. She didn't say anything for a long moment, just set her forearms against her thighs, her hands between her bent knees and the walkie talkie she was given held in both of her hands. She honestly wasn't sure what to say at first, her brain still somewhat cloudy from the headrush she got while moving, but, after about a minute, she sighed as she pushed the button on the toy. "You look tired."

A snorted scoff came from Bankotsu's nose as a slight smirk pulled at his lips. Running the tip of his tongue along the bottoms of his teeth, he brought his own walkie talkie up and pushed the button. "It's been a long week, Pretty Girl." The look he watched overtake Kagome's face brought a small smile to his, but he just clicked his tongue. "I hear you're having some... difficulties, with Dr. Watanabe."

Scratching her uncovered eyebrow, Kagome shook her head. "He's an asshole. He's an asshole that wants to talk about things that are none of his damn business and wants to say I'm being difficult. Then, he wants to say I'm depressed because he's not getting his way. I know things are different. I know things will never be like they were. His incessant need to repeatedly point that out is what I find so fucking depressing. So, yeah... I'm having some difficulties with Dr. Wannabe."

Lips pursed and a hum in his throat, Bankotsu cocked his head. "Like what?" When asked for clarification on what he meant, he let out a breath. "Well, let's start where you did. What is it he wants to talk about that you don't think is his business?"

Kagome had been doing very well when it came to crying over the last twenty eight days she had been hospitalized, but she felt the tightness in her throat, and she turned away as she tried to swallow back the lump that formed at the question. She didn't really want to talk about it with Bankotsu either, not wanting to give the statement life. But, at the same time, she figured the sooner she got it off her chest, the sooner she could get it out of her mine. She still didn't look at him when she pushed the button so he could hear her. "He has been, uh... he's been trying to get me to say that because you know who it was that did this that I'm angry at you, because it would be normal and natural and hold you accountable, and I won't do it. Maybe I'm not normal, or something, but I'm not angry at you."

It was then she looked back at him, a tear track on her cheek. "I don't blame you, and no two-bit bastard is going to get me to say I think you're responsible for what someone else did. He wants me to say that I think our relationship is irreparably damaged because of it, and I won't say it. He wants me to admit my life is basically over, and I can't admit that, because it's not. Different maybe, but not over. I was doing fine, Bank. I was handling the situation as best I could, and then..." there was a pause before she finished speaking. "...And then this cocksucker comes along with his accusations and his belief that because I won't do what he wants I'm suicidal."

There was a sardonic upturn of the corner of Kagome's lips when she saw the shock flash through Bankotsu's eyes, and she licked her lips. "I'm not stupid. I caught the jist when Dr. Hakushin was in here and what he wouldn't say when it came to what that asshole with a prescription pad thought when it came to my lack of desire to talk to him. It's not that I won't. I did until he started pressing me to say that. It's that I won't admit I'm broken. He doesn't know me. He doesn't know anything about me. He doesn't know you either, so he doesn't get to decide that I'm broken and that it's your fault. I'm not broken. What I am, is pissed off. How can someone that's broken be pissed off? Broken people don't care, and I do. They don't feel, and I do." Her voice hitched. "I'm. not. broken, and I won't say I am. Not for him; not for anyone."

Relatively sure he was going to end up in jail for murder once he digested what he was just told, Bankotsu bit into his tongue before he looked at Kagome. "You know I wouldn't blame you if you did find me partly responsible for this."

Eye crinkling in the corner, Kagome snorted. "Why would I? Because you dated the chick for a couple of month five years ago? You know, I've had a lot of time to think about a lot of things, and I still can't came up with any reason as to how you hold even an ounce of responsibility, and I looked for it. I won't lie about it, I did. I mean, how could I not? The only thing I came up with was if you didn't date her, this wouldn't have happened, but at the same time, there's no proof of that either. You're not allowed to feel guilty. Feeling guilty means you had something direct to do with it, and you don't. You didn't tell her to do it. You didn't put me in the position to give her the chance to do it. You're not responsible. The only people that are responsible are her and her brother."

Face pinching slightly, Bankotsu grunted in the back of his throat as he let her know she was wrong about that. "And Toga."

Two words Kagome never expected him to say. "I'm sorry, what?"

Scratching his temple, Bankotsu clicked his tongue. "During the investigation of the assault while the police were asking questions and collecting their evidence to support the charges, the uh... it comes down to even though he didn't know, he can be held criminally liable for providing access to the means, as well as providing the opportunity to obtain said means. The chowder was intentionally altered by one of his employees while said employee was on the clock, which makes Toga responsible for his actions, and by legal definition, an accessory to the crime. As far as I know he hasn't been charged as one, but that's what Ginkotsu said could happen."

Pushing herself off the wall, Kagome turned herself to sit forward, fully facing Bankotsu with pure confusion on her features. "But how?"

Bankotsu just shrugged. "It's like... when a bar owner is held responsible for a car accident caused by one of their drunk customers that results in injury or death. If not for one of the employees giving someone the opportunity to consume that much alcohol, then allowing them to get behind the wheel of car, the accident wouldn't have happened. In this case, had Toga been paying attention to what his employee was doing, Nara... Onigumo wouldn't have had the opportunity to turn a bowl of soup into a weapon. This equates to Toga providing both the opportunity to, and the means in which to cause harm. It's... messy."

Confusion melting away to horror, Kagome shook her head, regretting it, but continued to do it. "No... he didn't know. He shouldn't get in trouble for this. It's not his fault."

Bankotsu shrugged. "The law says it is. Like I said, it's messy, but there's no way his lawyers are going to let anything they throw at him stick. Don't worry too much about it, Baby Girl. Ginkotsu is handling it."

Her lip curling in the corner, Kagome hummed. "I don't understand. What do you mean Ginkotsu's handling it?"

Taking a moment, Bankotsu sighed, slouching a little more as he turned and looked up the hallway. There weren't many people around, this part of the hospital generally keeping bodies to a minimum, but he wasn't really seeing what was in front of him. More, he was staring off into space because when he said shit was messy, that's what he meant, but more than Kagome knew. So, deciding to put everything out there, he sighed again and looked back at his wife. "I don't want to see Toga get in trouble either. He was... is, like a second father. He did the things my dad didn't, or wouldn't, or couldn't... whatever. Anyway, I don't want to see him get in trouble either, but you were hurt at work."

Licking her lips, Kagome cut in, and had to repeat herself since they were both holding the button on their walkie talkie at the same time. "But... Before... Ginkotsu told me before I was put in here that because it was an assault and not an accident or work related injury, worker's compensation doesn't apply."

Running his fingers through his bangs, Bankotsu clicked his tongue. "It doesn't, but you were hurt under his watch. I can forgive a lot, Kagome, and I can let a lot of things go, but not this. Whether or not Toga is charged is really beside the point. That's up to his attorneys to deal with. You were hurt working at his restaurant because he wasn't paying attention, and that's for me to deal with. It's not something I can forgive, it's certainly not something I'm willing to let go, and that's where Ginkotsu comes in."

The implication of what he wasn't saying hit Kagome like a freight train, and her breath caught in her throat. "You're gonna sue him."

Bankotsu's head tilted slightly to the side, his face losing it's expression, and his voice taking on a questioning lit. "Going to?"

The breath that was stuck a moment ago was stolen from Kagome as her uncovered eye went wide. "You already are."

A very serious look over took Bankotsu's features, his blue eyes hardening as he looked Kagome in the eye. "No one, makes, my wife cry. Anyone, and I don't care who it is; anyone that has a hand in it, will pay for it, and I don't give a singular rat's ass if I have to spent every penny I have to make sure of it."

Closing her eye, Kagome covered her lips with the back of her fingers, turning away so the side of her face that could be seen wasn't facing Bankotsu. She was shocked, sure, but she wasn't hiding upset or horror at his words; she was hiding a smile. Despite everything, every part of the horrible situation, if she had to name what came over her at her husband's words, she would admit she was flattered; more so than she had ever been in her life. That was wrong, it was horrible, it was... it was flattering, and she didn't care. It was the first time in the last twenty-nine days she felt good. Maybe it made her a bad person, she didn't know, but in that moment, she felt good. She felt as if maybe nothing changed, that maybe things weren't so fucked up. She had her life stolen from her, lost a part of who she was, but she hadn't lost him. He was willing to throw away so much, just because she cried. She didn't think this was the kind of cause Jakotsu was talking about the night she met Bankotsu when he told her he would give everything he worked for away for the right reason, but... he would do it for her, and she was flattered.

Slowly licking her lips, Kagome drew her bottom one between her teeth, still looking at the wall for another moment before she looked back at her husband. Glancing to the ceiling for a second, she pressed her lips together before bringing her walkie talkie back to her mouth, pressed the button, and looked Bankotsu in the eye, setting her fingertips on her other hand against the glass that separated them. "I love you."

His iced over eyes melted back into the crashing oceans as he looked at her, Bankotsu set his fingers against hers, a smile on his own lips. "And I you."


	20. Chapter 20

"Go home."

Shock the likes she hadn't felt in a long time shot through Kagome's blood at the simple two word statement. Choking on the spit she had been in the process of swallowing before Dr. Hakushin opened his mouth, Kagome banged on her chest with the side of her fist a couple of times to dislodge the obstruction to her breathing, gasping when she spoke. "What?"

There was a small upturn to the corner of Hiten's lips as he continued to look at the chart in his hands. "Pretty sure it was your eyesight that was damaged, not your hearing." Smiling wider as he closed the binder in his hands, he held it to his chest as he crossed his arms. "Go home, Hot Stuff. You've been here for three months and, yeah you're cute and all, but I'm tired of lookin' at you. Go home." Grinning wider as she continued to trip over her tongue, he swallowed the chuckle before it could be heard. "There's nothing else we can do for you, Kagome, but more importantly," leaning forward and lowering his voice slightly, "there is nothing else we need to do."

Straightening his spine, there was an honest to god smile on his face. "You underwent thirteen grafting surgeries, three additional surgeries because you have some very, very angry organs for someone as young as you are, on top of contracting and overcoming four infections that, if we're being honest two of which should have killed you, and one almost did. You've been here almost a full month longer than originally anticipated. Your labs are finally completely clean. Your white count is back up in normal range. If you keep your eye covered to preserve the chance, and Kagome I swear to you there is still a chance, to restore your vision, there is no reason for you to stay here." Pulling the loose papers out of the binder, he set them on the tray table as he spoke. "These are your discharge papers, prescriptions, and care instructions. Follow them, mind your meds, and pay attention to your body. I've already called Bankotsu and he's on his way. When he gets here, for the Gods, go home."

It wasn't until Hiten was walking toward the door Kagome scrambled out of her bed, tangling herself up in the blanket, but catching herself before she fell. "Dr. Hakushin!"

Pausing and twisting around on the tips of his toes, Hiten smiled at the girl once again. "Yes, Mrs. Akasaki?"

Clearing her throat and biting into her bottom lip as the same butterflies that always surface when she was referred by her new last name fluttered in her stomach, Kagome did her best to push them down. Even though she kept them out of her throat, she didn't fully keep them out of her voice. "You really think there's still a chance you can fix my eye?"

Letting out a slow breath, Hiten clasped his hands behind his back, wrapping the fingers of both hands around the chart folder as he shook his head. "No, not your eye. There is a way to restore vision, but it's also not something that will happen tomorrow, or really anytime soon. The only way to restore the vision in your left eye is by doing something called a corneal transplant, in which the cornea of a cadaver is used to replace your damaged one. The only way that will be possible, however, is if you protect the orb itself. Use the eye patch when in direct sunlight. Use the drops to keep it free of dust and debris. It's up to you how much you want to see out of that eye again, and that will show by how well you take care of the orb. Right now, it's for show, but if you ever want that to change, you have to do your due diligence here, Kagome. It's nothing short of a miracle that you didn't lose it entirely over the last three months, and now it's completely up to you on how much you want your vision restored."

As she stood there and listened, Kagome nodded along with the instructions. It seemed easy enough, she supposed. It wasn't any different than what she had been doing for the last handful of weeks, so just continuing it didn't seem impossible.

Especially if it meant she might get her eyesight back.

Nodding to the instructions and smiling wide, Kagome loosely wrapped her arms around herself. "Thank you... for, everything."

Bowing his head, Hiten never lost his own grin. "It's been a pleasure. Your husband should be here soon, so I suggest you get ready to go. I'll see you in a couple of weeks." Pausing right before he was out the door, he glanced back over his shoulder one last time. "And, I think it safe for you to take off that mask now."

Watching her surgeon leave for what was the last time actually stole the breath from Kagome's lungs as she sank down onto her bed, her arms still wrapped around her stomach. Letting her eyes roam the room, she took in all the things she had accumulated since she was released from the burn unit and moved to a normal room. There were the balloons from Natalie. There was a stuffed wolf from Kouga, Ayame, and their baby, Kougamaru. There were more flowers than she cared to count from her swarm of brother in-laws. There were all kinds of art projects, ranging from macaroni masterpieces to scribble drawings, on the walls from the kids in Suikotsu's pediatric wing. There was a mostly empty goodie basket from Mama Shun and Hakkaku that had at one point been bursting at its seams with all of her favorite treats. There were miscellaneous other items from servers, cooks, and her regular customers from Kamano placed wherever there was room, including a tiger than held a well wishes balloon from Ren and Sesshoumaru.

On her bed, in a place of importance, was an overstuffed purple teddy bear that was large enough to replace the jokes the hospital considered pillows that had been given to her by Bankotsu. When he first gave it to her, there was a chain around its neck, and from that hung her wedding bands, which had been given to Bankotsu for safe keeping the day she was admitted. It had been nearly two months to the day before she was able to put them back on, and when she was given permission by Dr. Hakushin to do so, Bankotsu got down on one knee as he slipped them back into place on her finger. There was a swoonish sigh from every other female that was present when he did it, but it just made Kagome giggle.

There was also a handful of personal items that had been brought to her from home, namely clothing so she didn't have to always wear a hospital gown and scrub pants, which she was allowed to have the day she came out of the burn unit as long as the shirt didn't have to pulled over her head, or at least had a wide enough collar so it don't rub on her face when she put it on. There were also some books, her laptop, and her own set of crayons and sketch pads. Bankotsu thought he was being funny when he presented her the box of crayons, but Kagome actually got very excited about them.

Unwrapping her arms from her middle, she slowly reached up, grabbing the surgical mask she was wearing, slowly pulling it from her face and holding it in her hands. Biting into her lip as she looked at it, she was overcome with emotion as her eyes actually itched. She hadn't been without a mask for almost two weeks, it being easier for her to wear one than to make everyone else. It was more that action, the removing of that damn stuffy piece of papered irritation, than Dr. Hakushin's words that told her this was finally over and she was really going home. She had been to that dance with him once before, but a last minute blood draw discovered an increase in her white count, and a rapid flu test that came back positive held her hostage for another two weeks.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry in that moment, so she did both. There were tears streaming down her cheeks as she dropped back onto the bed, covering her face with the mask in her hands as she ugly laughed, snorting like a pig as she gasped for her breaths. She had no idea how to express what she was feeling, and Dr. Wannabe would probably get his way and have her committed if he saw her in that moment.

She was so elated, she didn't get a single thing put up or packed away before her room was filled with her husband and his brothers, that came to help carry all her accumulated crap. She heard Bankotsu clear his throat, and she dropped her arms, a wide smile on her face, before she snorted again, belting out another laugh as she recovered her face.

Standing back with an amused smile of his own, Bankotsu actually nodded his agreement when Jakotsu whispered in his ear that someone had clearly broken his wife. Keeping his own voice down, he responded. "I'll certainly take this over the last time I got here after she was told she could go home."

Jakotsu's nose wrinkled at the reminder of the complete breakdown that followed the revealing of her blood work that said she wasn't going anywhere. He honestly didn't think she would ever stop crying, so hearing her laughter was certainly a far better experience.

Making his way across the room, Bankotsu positioned himself at his wife's head, placing a hand to either side, and smiling at her when she opened her eyes to look at him. She wasn't wearing the eye patch she would be putting on when they left, so he was able to see the milky white that covered the expressive brown, but it did nothing to distract from seeing just how happy she was. The left side of her face was a completely different color than the right, the bottom of her chin, across her nose, and her hairline blotchy with patches of different flesh tones. She had told him weeks ago she couldn't feel anything where there was no color, but where the blotches were she could.

She was still fucking gorgeous, though.

Head tilting to the side, Bankotsu clicked his tongue. "What's so funny, Pretty Girl?"

Still laughing, she tried to force words to come out, but she kept changing her mind on what she wanted to say. "Noth... I mean... No..." Then, the widest smile she was capable of making spread across her lips as she dropped her arms to her sides and she giggled again. "I get to go home." Then, rolling over, she pushed herself to her hands and knees, that same smile in place as she locked her eyes on Bankotsu's. "And... I get to do this." Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his for the first time in what felt like forever.

Bankotsu, responding in kind, wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and wasting no time deepening their kiss. The room melted away from around him as his eyes slid closed, forgetting for a moment there were others present as he devoured every one noise that slipped from Kagome's throat.

While the married couple continued to completely ignore the fact they weren't alone and make out like teenagers, the remaining Akasakis went about packing the few things that weren't and gathered up the trinkets, cards, and artwork from the walls, leaving their brother and his wife to their own devices as they did so. It wasn't like the two were going to stop if asked, so really, making any attempt to pry them apart would have just ended in something no one wanted to happen. They had both been deprived of the proper affection of the other for a few days over three months, so giving them the five minutes it took them to gather Kagome's belongings to get reacquainted wasn't exactly the end of the world.

Everything went perfectly fine as far as getting everything but Kagome out of her room. The issue came when she herself went to exit, and she was unable to judge how close she was to the edge of the bed, and her left foot caught on the wheel because she couldn't see it. It was actually Kyokotsu, of all of them, that caught her before she hit the ground, at the sacrifice of the glass vases in his arms.

Every ounce of elation of being discharged leached from her pores as she got her feet back under her, and nodded her thanks to Kyokotsu when he asked if she was good. Wrapping her arms tighter around the teddy bear in her arms, the only thing she was asked to carry, she cleared her throat as she looked down. "I didn't see it."

Humming in his throat, Bankotsu set the bag of her clothes on the foot of her, unzipped it and stuffed the wolf from Kouga into it before zipping it back up and, after slinging it over his shoulder, he went over to his wife and presented her his elbow with a grin. "My Lady."

No less embarrassed than she was a moment ago, Kagome still smiled slightly at the gesture as she threaded her arm through his presented one. She had to turn her head all the way to the side to look up at him, and when she did, she frowned. "It's like... nothing over here exists. There's nothing past my nose."

Filing that information away to be pondered on later, he just smiled back. "We'll figure it out. For now, let's just go home."

*X*

In the half hour it took to drive from the hospital to their home, the list of linguistics to be 'figured out' just continued to grow, but most of them, there was nothing that could be done. When half the world is stolen from you, far too many things seem to come from nowhere, which makes being a car a slightly terrifying experience; at least that was the case for Kagome. She was tense and jumpy for most of the drive, and it didn't lessen until Bankotsu set his hand on her knee. She wasn't sure if it was necessarily a reminder the world did still exist past her nose, but it helped to make cars coming from that direction slightly less of a shock.

Other things just had to do with her new perception of the world around her. Since it was her left side that went in first, when she got in the car, she hadn't gotten herself far enough over the seat, and once again had to be caught before she hit the ground. Not only was it embarrassing, it was border line degrading because really? She was twenty-three fucking years old, and had to be caught like a toddler learning to walk for just about everything she was doing for the first time since the incident. Even knowing it was kind gesture, Bankotsu walking on her left side to make sure she didn't trip over, or run into something else she couldn't see, and that was what was degrading. But, it wasn't like she could fault him for it.

It's not like having someone between her and a potentially painful encounter with something that doesn't move was the worst thing to ever happen to her.

Getting out of the car was much less dramatic, as was walking to the door where she waiting for Bankotsu to get her bag and teddy bear out of the trunk. The walkway didn't involve steps and wasn't lined with any safety hazards. Her brother in-laws pulled in one by one as Bankotsu was unlocking the door, but nothing could have prepared her for the shock of her life when she stepped inside, made it about halfway down the entry, looking at the floor to ensure she didn't hit anything, when there was a thunderous 'SURPRISE' by the mass of people that were waiting around the island in the kitchen.

It scared Kagome so bad, she actually let out a shriek, dropping the bear in her arms, and covering her mouth as her wide eyes cut up to take in the faces looking back at her with varying looking of amusement. Bankotsu barely had time to get the bear on the floor out of her way before she bolted forward, her sights set on her 'little' brother, who was a full seven inches taller than her.

Braced for impact, Sota leaned forward slightly and scooped his sister up in his arms as she threw hers around his neck and her legs circled his waist, Kouga placing his hands against Sota's back to keep him on his feet. Her face buried in his neck, Sota could feel her body shake against him, and he tucked his down and closed his eyes as he tightened his arms around her. He hadn't been able to go see her as much as he wanted to while she was in the hospital because he had been gearing up for graduation, but he did go see her as much as he could, or was allowed rather. The way it had worked out was when he had the ability, she was either on a massively restricted visitor allowance, or it was cut off completely, as what happened at the time of his graduation when she caught a viral infection that very nearly killed her.

Hitomi, standing next to her children, smiled behind her fingertips that were pressed to her lips. There had been so many emotional highs and lows over the last three months, including facing the very real possibility she would never see both of them in the same place again. Tears clouding her vision, she jumped slightly when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. Turning her head, she smiled up at her son in-law before leaning her head against his chest, returning her eyes to Kagome and Sota as the former of the two finally pulled her head back.

Unwrapping her legs from Sota's waist, she held onto his neck until she had her feet under her, but didn't pull completely away as she looked up at him, her own eyes slightly watery. Her hands still on her brother's chest, she cleared her throat slightly. "I'm so sorry I missed your graduation."

Making a face at the ceiling as he rolled his head on his shoulders, Sota hummed quietly as he then looked down at her. "Pretty sure near death experiences supersede the need for apologies, Sis. I'm just glad you're okay."

There was a grunt from her as she stepped back, scratching her forehead with a wrinkled nose. "Yeah... yeah that wasn't fun." Then, she flicked her eyes back up to his. "Did Bankotsu give you your present?"

"Nope."

Both Kagome and Sota looked to Bankotsu as he released Hitomi and went over to the back counter, opening a drawer and pulling out a thin box that was wrapped in shiny blue paper.

Leaning on the island, he held it out to his wife with a smile. "It's not from me, it's from you; so you should be the one to give it to him."

Narrowing her eyes as she took the present from Bankotsu, she scoffed. "You went to his graduation party empty handed?"

Bankotsu shook his head. "No, just without that." When he saw her raise a brow at him, he shrugged. "I gave him what every graduate wants... money in exchange for his graduating GPA that he can spend on whatever the fuck he wants."

Even less unimpressed with her husband in that moment, Kagome shook her head as she handed off the present to her brother, who chuckled when he took it. "He's not wrong, Sis."

Sighing, Kagome just shook her head again. She knew she wasn't going to win the argument if the two boys were on the same page, so she just let it go and leaned her head on her mother's shoulder when Hitomi wrapped her up in her arms. Besides, what could she really say when inside that box was a flight voucher for a round trip to Greece she got him for graduation?

After a moment, something else popped into her head as she looked at her little brother. "Oh, and uh... before you leave, remind me to give you my car keys. It uh, it might need washed and detailed on the inside, but there's only like, five hundred or something like that left on it to pay off."

Tapping the small box in his hand against his other palm, Sota frowned. "Are you sure?"

With a tight lipped smile, Kagome nodded. "Not like I can drive it anymore. I have to surrender my licence, so, not sure what good it'll do sitting in the driveway since I highly doubt Bankotsu is going to drive it."

Bankotsu choked on the beer he had been drinking at the statement, waving his hand back and forth with the most disgusted look on his face Kagome had seen to date. "Not even under threat of death."

Glaring as best she could, Kagome gave him the finger. "Spoiled little bastard."

Bankotsu just winked at her.

*X*

Sitting on the patio with a giggling Maru bouncing in her lap, Kagome smiled at the baby as he kept reaching for her eye patch. "No... that's Me-me's not Maru's... no-no." Leaning back out of his reach, she gasped at him, "No." Picking him up and turning him to face his parents, she sat him down and bounced him on her knees as she looked at Ayame. "So, how are you?"

Brushing her bangs out of her face, the overly tired mama shook her head. "I'm just.. tired." Setting her hand on her belly, she shook her head. "It's not like there was a plan for number two so soon, but..." with a sigh, she shook her head again. "I guess the closer together the better, right?"

Cringing at the thought of dealing with the start of a second baby before the one she just gave birth to was even fully crawling, Kagome made a long, drawn out noise in the back of her throat. "I suppose. I know a pair of sisters that aren't a full year apart, and they were raised a lot like twins, which seemed to be what kept their mom sane."

That simple statement seemed to perk Ayame right up, for whatever reason. "Oh, ya know, that's not a bad idea. And if this one is boy, won't have to buy anything for him, so there's that, too."

Nodding as she continued to bounce Maru on her knees, Kagome smiled. "Always a silver lining somewhere. And, ya know, I can help if you need me to. I'm not sure what all I can do, but not like I have a lot of other things going on right at the moment."

Kouga, who had one arm over the back Ayame's chair and a beer in the hand of the other, cocked his head to the side. "What are you gonna do?"

Left with no option but to shrug, Kagome frowned. "I don't know. It's not like I have my job anymore, or could even do it if I did. Besides, with the lawsuit and the legal repercussions of what happened, I doubt I'm even welcome there anymore."

The most detestable noise that had ever come out of Kouga in Kagome's direction slipped past his lips as they curled in the corners. "Oh, bullshit. Everything aside, Toga legitimately cares about you. There hasn't been a shift I've been there when he was he hasn't asked how you were doing. He knows he fucked up, and in a big way. He's not even fighting the lawsuit your husband filed against him."

Genuinely shocked, Kagome jolted and blinked. "He's not?"

Kouga shook his head. "No. I overheard him talking with Sesshoumaru about it. He told Sesshomaru to tell Bankotsu to tell Ginkotsu to write it up and he would settle for whatever is asked for."

No more able to understand the words coming out of Kouga's mouth, Kagome licked her lips. "Really?"

"Yup." Wrenching her head around, she saw Ginkotsu leaning on the wall behind her, a glass of something in his hand, and a grin on his face. "It already would have been considered closed if you would have gotten out of the hospital a month ago like you were supposed to, or even two weeks ago before you got sick that last time. He didn't want to drag it out with the court case pending, so he settled. At this point, all that's left is a meeting in my office where he and Bank sign the dotted lines, Toga cuts a check, and it's over."

Shifting in her seat so she could look at him more comfortable position, Ginkotsu taking pity on her and moving as well, and after biting her lip, Kagome then bit the bullet and asked. "So... what's the settlement?"

Before Ginkotsu could answer that, Kouga shot out of his seat, his arms out. "Give me my son."

No sooner had Kouga plucked Maru out of Kagome's lap did Ginkotsu answer her question. "Six million."

She had been wrong before, about the two words having the power to make her heart stop longer than anything else before it being 'go home' that she had been told by Dr. Hakushin. _Those_ two words stole her breath and she actually had a difficult time catching it again. Hand over her mouth, the only word that slipped past her lips was, "what?"

Grinning wider, Ginkotsu chuckled. "Two of which are alicuted directly to you, and the rest is to be put into a secondary account for medical expenses. Once all of those are paid, whatever is left goes to you, too." Finishing his drink as Kagome digested that, he set his glass on the table and crouched down in front of her. "How we came to the alicution was, we sat down and figured out how much you actually make a month, used that average for your yearly, and used that to project what you would have made there over the next forty-five years, which would be retirement age. It's actually slightly less than that, but Toga said to round it up, so we did. Since you can't work anymore, this ensures you can always support yourself, whatever happens."

Though Kagome was able to catch her breath, she couldn't, however, regain control of her tongue. "I... I do... I um..." Scrubbing at her face, she looked completely helpless when she looked back at Ginkotsu. "I don't know what to say."

Shrugging as he stood up, Ginkotsu crossed his arms. "Other than telling Kyokotsu 'no' when he inevitably attempts to take advantage of your good nature, you don't have to say anything. It's like Jakotsu told you right after you and Bank got married; we look out for each other in this family. And, unlike Bankotsu, I don't have a soft spot for any of the Tanakas, so it was no skin off my ass to sit across a litigation table from Toga, or his army of lawyers, armed with a phone book sized file of pictures and medical reports from your hospital stay." When he saw Kagome frown, he hummed. She was a good person... without all the information. Tapping a finger on his arm, he clicked his tongue. "Look, Kagome, if you want to know the truth, chances are, the lawsuit saved him from being forced to pay a hell of a lot more in court ordered restitution. They don't give a shit about relationships or anything of the kind. They don't care if they ruin someone. They only care about two things; your injuries and how those injuries will affect the rest of your life, then base their decision of what they consider fair compensation on that." Giving her a much more serious look, "don't feel bad about this, and don't worry about it. There are plenty of other things coming up for you to worry about... like Kagura."

A very cold feeling settled into Kagome's bones at the name. "What about her?"

Sighing, Ginkotsu rubbed the back of his neck, glancing over to Bankotsu, who was half listening to their conversation up to that point. Licking his lips, he returned his sights to Kagome as Bankotsu came over. "She is exercising her right to face her accuser by pleading not guilty, and wants to have her day in court."


	21. Chapter 21

For the first couple of days after Kagome was released from the hospital, she didn't do much, and other than filling her prescriptions, nether did Bankotsu. It wasn't that neither of them had nothing to do, they just didn't do them. For Kagome, she felt her time was better spent winding herself up about her pending meeting with the prosecutor, and Bankotsu spent his time trying his best to calm her back down when she pushed herself to the edge of a panic attack. Really, though, there wasn't a lot he could do other than keep reminding her she wasn't the one that did anything wrong, and all she had to do was tell him what she could remember.

But that was the problem.

She remembered it all.

She remembered filling her tray. She remembered being asked to drop off a bowl of clam chowder to a table that wasn't hers. She remembered the wild look in the whore's eyes right before she felt the worst pain she ever had in her life. She remembered the terror in Kouga's eyes when he tried to help her. She remembered the way he lost every ounce of color of his tanned skin when she couldn't breathe in the back of the ambulance. She remembered waking up, completely alone, with a tube down her throat. She remembered every stick of every needle. She remembered every moment of loneliness in isolation. She remembered the feeling of her throat closing off and the tightness of her chest that came with it that led to her spending five days hooked up to fucking life support because she got a massive staph infection. She remembered the twice devastation that came with being told she wasn't going home anymore. She lost her tonsils, her appendix, and had another scar that went from her belly button to her pelvis because she had developed an intestinal abscess from something else she 'picked up'.

She remembered everything, and the memories ran on repeat in her mind every time she looked in the mirror or narrowly avoided breaking her fucking toes on one piece of furniture or another. She wouldn't go up the stairs because of how close she came to falling down them when her foot slipped off the top landing at the heel her first morning home.

It was a pretty hard pill for both of them to swallow that night when Bankotsu asked if she was ready for bed when she nodded off on the couch, and she just ask him to bring her her pajamas because she intended to sleep downstairs in one of the spare rooms. He stayed downstairs with her, of course, but spent most of his night staring at the ceiling, trying to think of something to help her while she slept tucked awkwardly into his side, no longer used to sleeping next to someone.

The entire situation was exhausting for the both of them, but for different reasons, and it just got more so over those first days. Bankotsu didn't know what to do to help Kagome, and Kagome didn't know how to ask for what she needed; a fact that compounded everything else. She was trying so hard, and perhaps too hard, to act as though everything was fine and very little had changed, when in fact, it was the exact opposite.

As the days dragged on with painful slowness, nothing really got better, either.

As a matter of fact, they got worse.

The turning point came the morning when she had to go surrender her driver's licence and exchange it for a basic identification card. It might not have been quite so bad had she not overheard two of the workers talking behind the counter as the card was printing, discussing how pretty she _used_ to be, but she did. Jakotsu had been the one to take her, and while she was fighting back tears and staring at the ground, he wasn't willing to let it go. He roughly cleared his throat before informing the two twits she could hear them. They couldn't apologize fast enough, but the damage had already been done.

Kagome didn't say a word for six days, and she didn't need to. Her actions said plenty.

Bankotsu got home from the meeting with his brother and Toga to finish out the suit that same afternoon, and she wasn't there, nor would she answer her phone. He could honestly say he was more terrified during the twenty minutes it took him to get ahold of someone to make sure she was alright than he was for the vast majority of the time she was in the hospital, baring only when she was put on life support.

But it wasn't just him she wasn't talking to. She didn't talk to her brother, mother, Sango, Kouga, Ayame, or any of her brother in-laws - save for one - and it was against every fiber of her being she did so.

After watching his baby brother drink himself into a belligerent stupor for days on end, Kyokotsu showed up at the shrine, refusing to leave until she at least listened to him. He didn't care if she didn't talk, him kind of hoping she didn't, but that went out the window when he pushed the wrong button.

He looked down at the pint sized woman that looked back up at him with a bloodshot eye and completely defeat radiating from her. Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed. "Look, Kagome, I know I haven't exactly been the most supportive of this relationship, but..."

The noise that came out of her was rough, her face morphing into pure disgust as her scratchy, unused voice cut him off. "Don't. Don't you fucking dare. You don't have the right. Besides, you should be happy you're getting you way. The ugly little gold digging whore is finally leaving your baby brother alone. So why don't you go away, and leave her the hell alone."

The amount of attitude that came out of such a normally passive female brought Kyokotsu up short, but what also caught him off guard was for all the things he did call her, he never once called her ugly. She had already turned and walked away, and she didn't stop when he called for her to wait a damn minute, merely called over her shoulder to talk to Jakotsu. He stood, dumbfounded, until he actually jumped when she slammed a door somewhere upstairs.

Before he was completely out of the house, he whipped back around at the sound of shattering glass, but was stopped by a glaring Sota from finding out what that was. "Leave, now, or I will hurt you." When Kyokotsu opened his mouth, Sota actually growled. "I've been in Jiu-Jitsu since I was six. I know seventeen different ways to kill you without leaving a mark. The grounds are public. This house is not. Get. Out."

Swallowing back the biting remark that would do no one any good, Kyokotsu turned and left as told, but pulled his phone out as he heard the latching of the lock behind him. As he dialed Jakotsu's number, he held onto one thing, and one thing only. Kagome left a bread crumb, and if she was willing to do that, then maybe all wasn't lost.

When Jakotsu took the call from Kyokotsu, he had been speaking with Suikotsu, trying to get some kind of perspective into the mind of a traumatized assault victim in hopes it would give him some idea as to how to help Kagome. It wasn't even for Bankotsu he was doing it, either, because unlike the other five of them, Jakotsu loved everything about that girl, and had a better relationship with her than he did with half of his brothers. He chose her to be a large part of his life, and he was willing to do damn near anything to get her back.

While he was on the phone, Suikotsu watched as his younger brother changed before his eyes. All seven of the Akasaki siblings had a temper, but of all of them, Jakotsu was the only one that hardly ever lost his. As an openly gay man, and for as long as he's been open about his sexuality, he learned at a very young age he needed to let a lot of shit go, or he would spend his entire life very, very angry. However, the longer the phone call continued, the more angry Jakotsu clearly became, and by the time he ended the call, the man looked absolutely murderous.

Clicking his phone closed, Jakotsu calmly slipped it into his pocket. "I have to go. I'll call you later." Pausing and looking back when Suikotsu asked what was up, his voice continued to belie the emotions in his eyes. "I'm going to go pick up Kagome, make a pit stop to have two little cunts fired, and then I'm going to take her home where she belongs, whether she likes it or not."

Once again stopping Jakotsu from walking away, Suikotsu started with the more shocking part of that statement. "You don't use that word."

Face still level, Jakotsu hummed. "And yet."

Licking his lips, and not really knowing if he wanted the answer, Suikotsu asked anyway. "What's your plan, exactly?"

Jakotsu just shook his head. "I have no idea what Kyokotsu did to piss off Kagome enough to actually talk to him, but I do know what happened. I was there when it did. So, I'm going to deal with that before I take her home and handle that as well."

Crossing his arms, Suikotsu snorted. "Your confidence is astounding, Jakotsu."

Smirking with a spark in the back of his eyes, Jakotsu hummed again. "As it stands, my confidence may well be the only thing that saves their marriage. Both of them have had their lives turned upside down by Bankotsu's ex-girlfriend, and they are not talking. Now, I can appreciate the fact Bankotsu doesn't want to upset her, and I can also appreciate that Kagome might not even know what it is she wants to say, but this silence is not doing them any favors. If things continue as they are, the only outcome is divorce, and if there is a way to circumvent that, I believe we owe it to them to try."

Suikotsu cocked a brow. "Weren't you the one that threatened to beat their asses if you had to step into their marriage again?"

At the clearly jestful question, Jakotsu wasn't even slightly amused. "No; I threatened to use one of them to beat the other if I had to settle their stupid, superficial marital crap again. This isn't stupid, superficial marital crap that is only an issue due to pride. This is a major, life altering event that doubles as their defining moment as a couple, and will do one of only two things. It will either permanently cement the relationship, or as it's currently going, completely tear them apart."

Deciding the conversation was over, regardless if Suikotsu agreed, Jakotsu turned sideways to leave, and looked his brother in the eyes. "Get ahold of whoever is with Bankotsu and force them to make him to stop drinking. Kagome and I will be there in two hours."

*X*

By the time Jakotsu arrived at the shrine, he had calmed down substantially, though he was still geared up for the fight he knew he was about to get in with who had to be the most stubborn onna on the planet. He loved the girl dearly, but good damn could that girl dig her heels in.

He had also decided he wasn't going to be the one to deal with the two airheads at the governmental office. Bankotsu had always been extremely protective of Kagome, even before she became his wife, and to Jakotsu's knowledge, he didn't know what happened when she surrendered her licence. He would have told him, but until a half hour ago, he didn't know that was the catalyst for Kagome's leaving. Jakotsu didn't know exactly what Bankotsu would do with the information, but what he needed to do was prove to Kagome she still meant as much to him as she always did.

Jakotsu pulled out his phone to text Bankotsu to tell him to answer when he calls, but say nothing, as he walked across the shrine grounds. The only way Jakotsu could think of to keep his younger brother's temper in check when he and Kagome arrived was for him to hear from her why she vanished, and then not just have time to digest it before he saw her, but to listen to Ginkotsu's sober voice of reason. To the shock of the rest of Akasaki siblings, Bankotsu wasn't actually angry over the situation. He was hurt, of course, but mostly, he was confused, and once alcohol is added to mix, it's amazing how close something that isn't anger resembles anger.

Returning his phone to his pocket and fixing his jacket after he knocked on the door, Jakotsu waited with his hands clasped behind his back, and when Sota opened it, Kagome's brother huffed hard. "God, you Akasakis are like cockroaches. I already told your brother..."

Not in the mood, Jakotsu cut him off, a blank and level look on his face. "I'm aware of what you told my brother. Now, let me tell you something. I have six brothers that are all bigger than I am. I came out as gay when I was eleven, when a half dressed boy in gym class name Oscar Chen gave me a raging fucking boner. From that point on, I was known as the predatory faggot on the playground. You don't scare me, so either go get Kagome, or get the hell out of my way."

Hand shooting out, his palm flat on the wall to block the path of the man that went to barge past him, Sota narrowed his eyes. "That's a sad story, but I really don't care. Besides, she's not even here. She left fifteen minutes after your brother did. Don't know where she went. Don't know when she's coming back. So sorry."

Unsure whether he was being lied to or not, Jakotsu's head tilted to the side, challenge entering his dark eyes. "Then I'll wait."

Sota, however, just shrugged. "Suit yourself." Then, with a flick of his wrist, he slammed the door in Jakotsu's face.

Jerking back before he was hit in the nose with the door, Jakotsu scoffed. "Rude."

Backing off the porch, Jakotsu's eyes flicked up to the second floor to the open window he knew was Kagome's room. It was dark, so it lend credence to the claim she wasn't home, but still not sure whether her brother was telling the truth or not, Jakotsu pulled his phone out and dialed Kagome's cell. Setting it to his ear on the off chance she actually answered it, he waited to see if he could hear its ringtone, but when all he heard was the birds in the trees while there was a ringing in his ear, he was left to believe Sota told the truth about her not being there, though there was no part of him that believed he didn't know where she was.

Looking back at the door, he hung up on Kagome's voicemail, curious what it was that turned Sota so fucking frosty toward him. He could completely understand why he didn't like Kyokotsu. He earned every ounce of detestment held for him, but Jakotsu couldn't think of a damn thing he had done to lead to such a massive change in what was a very good relationship with Kagome's little brother. The only thing he could come up with was Sota never actually cared for him, and with the situation being what it was, he no longer had to pretend otherwise. If that was the case, should Kagome go back to her husband, he was going to have one hell of a time with the extended family during the holidays.

Then again, he supposed sides were always chosen, regardless of the actual necessity of choosing sides.

As he was making his way back to the steps that led to the street, with every intention of doing what he said he was and waiting for her there, he heard his phone chirp with an incoming text. Pulling it out of his pocket, he cocked a brow at the fact it was from Kouga's number, and actually choked at the image that was waiting for him when he opened the message. The picture of Kagome sitting in a chair, her head propped up by the fingertips of a bloody, mangled hand against her temple with the caption of ' _little busy_ ' was basically the last thing he ever expected to see. She had her eyes closed, so he was left to then guess Kouga was doing this without her knowledge.

He didn't completely expect an answer when he texted back, asking what happened, but when there was a response, he found himself wishing Kouga would have gone back to ignoring him.

' _She put her fist through a mirror'_

Swiping back to the image of Kagome in an exam chair, he winced as he once again looked at her hand. She had it held vertically on the arm of the chair she was sitting in, her fingers and knuckles shredded, a large gash on the back of it, and blood sliding down her forearm. He didn't think there was actually any pressure against her fingers, but the position was more one of comfort than anything else. There were two other things in the picture he noticed that gave him some level of hope.

She was still wearing her wedding rings, and the necklace Bankotsu gave her when they were dating still hung around her neck.

Another message came through as he was looking at the image, and when he looked at it, he let out a hard grunt.

" _She's still not talking, not even to tell me what the fuck led to this.'_

Oh, Jakotsu had a pretty decent idea.

There were three things he could do right now. The first was wait at the shrine as intended for her to come back. The second was find out where she was and go to her. The third was he tell Kouga to take her home, and meet them there.

After a long moment of debate, he chose the second option. It was 'neutral ground' where she couldn't hide, and where she wouldn't have the claim of being ganged up on. Asking for the information, he waited to see if Kouga would give it to him. Jakotsu knew he either would or he wouldn't, and he could perfectly understand why he wouldn't. Should this come down to the dissolving of her marriage, she would need her best friend, and the last thing she needed was to lose that as well should she see him doing that as a betrayal.

It was a much longer wait for the next message, but when it came through, Jakotsu bounded down the steps to go to his car. He wasn't going to make it before she was discharged, but Kouga told him to meet them at his apartment.

Slipping his phone back into the holder on his belt, Kouga went back to twirling Kagome's long, white cane through his fingers as he watched her get her hand seen to. He didn't say anything, just watched her wince and cringe as the emergency room doctor stitched her hand back together to the best of his ability. She really did a number on it, and he really wanted to know why.

She hadn't even called to ask for a ride. Just sent him a picture and a text telling him she needed a doctor. He found it odd he was the one she told when he found out Sota was there when she did it, but after not hearing a word from her in nearly a week, he was out the door and at the shrine in record time since he didn't know she wasn't alone.

He also had no idea what bug crawled up Sota's ass, but he told Kagome's brother in no uncertain terms that if he ever spoke to him like he did again, Sota would be the one needing a fucking doctor.

After he shoved the little bastard out of his way and went up to Kagome's room, he opened the door to see her sitting on the edge of her bed, blood dripping from her hand onto the carpet, and the vanity mirror shattered, the glass all over the floor. Not surprisingly, the first thing out of Kouga's mouth was a 'what the fuck', but also not surprisingly to him, she didn't answer. She hadn't said two words to anyone that he knew of, and this being the first time he had seen her since she was released from the hospital, he was pretty fucking worried about where her head was at.

The picture he sent Jakotsu wasn't taken for Jakotsu, it was just the one he had since when Jakotsu called, the doctor was already with her. He took it to send to her husband, but when it came to sending it, he ended up deciding not to. It wasn't to hide it or anything. It was so Bankotsu didn't show up, because he also didn't know where _his_ head was at. Kouga had known Kagome long enough to know how she ticked, but he couldn't say the same for the man she married. He might have a decent relationship with the man now, but his loyalty would always be to Kagome, and until she said she was ready, he wouldn't force her to see Bankotsu.

But... Jakotsu wasn't Bankotsu.

He wasn't stupid; he knew she was going to be pissed when he didn't take her back to the shrine once she was done being stitched back together, but since he was the one driving, and he didn't want to see her ruin what was actually a very good marriage until recently, he figured she would eventually get over it. Besides, even if she didn't say a word to her brother in-law, he did know her well enough to know she would actually listen to what he had to say.

He might had come to a different conclusion had he known she put her fist through that mirror because she had listened to what a brother in-law had to say, but since he didn't know about Kyokotsu, he wasn't prepared for the glare that was sent his direction when Kagome saw Jakotsu sitting on the couch in Kouga's apartment next to Ayame with Maru in his lap. However, unprepared for it not, that didn't stop him from leveling her with a look of his own irritation. "This could have been avoided if you would've just told me what the fuck was going on with you."

Kagome, however, said nothing; just whacked Kouga in the ankle with the cane she had been given to help her navigate what she couldn't see around her.

There was a loud grunt upon impact, and as Kouga was rubbing where he got hit with one hand, he actually snapped at her as his look darkened, snatching the damn cane from her grasp with the other. "Way un-fucking-called for." Throwing the object across the room, Kouga put his foot down, both literally and figuratively, as Ayame picked Maru up and took him out of the room so he wasn't privy to his father's loss of temper. "I don't know what the hell is going on with you, but regardless of what you think, you don't get to be a bitch, and you certainly don't get to hit me for no fucking reason in _my_ house, in front of my son."

Holding her bandaged hand against her chest with her other arm, Kagome said the first thing she had to him since she got out of the hospital. "Then take me home."

Kouga, crossing his arms, cocked a brow. "Gladly. I'm sure your husband would really like to see you." Pointing at her bandaged hand, "pretty sure he's gonna have a question or two for you, though."

At the direct statement, a level of desperation entered Kagome's voice. "You know that's not what I meant."

Kouga, though, didn't miss a beat. "But that's home, Kagome. You don't live at the shrine anymore; that's just where you're hiding."

Though she bulked, Kagome averted her eyes, pressing her lips together as she bit the inside of her bottom one. After a moment, she shook her head. "I'm not... hiding."

Once again, there was clear challenge in Kouga's voice, but the tone was slightly softer. "Then what do you call it?"

Keeping her eyes cast off to the side for several seconds, Kagome chewed on her lip as she tried to figure out an acceptable answer to that that wasn't actually a lie, but since that was basically exactly what she was doing, she sighed as she finally looked at Jakotsu. "Do you wanna know what I've been doing since that morning at the government office? I've been... I've been trying to remember how... life... _used_ to be. I've been..." swallowing hard, she clicked her tongue, "trying to remember what it was like to not... hurt." Using her undamaged hand to point at the blotchy skin that surrounded the colorless skin on her face, Kagome gave a sardonic smile as she sniffled slightly. "It hurts... all the time. Doctor Hakushin said that it uh... it probably always will, too. The nerves were damaged, beyond repair, but they're still alive. Painkillers don't help. Alcohol might, but I'm not allowed to have that, because it might have an adverse reaction to the antidepressants I'm on; which, don't really help all that much either, to be honest." Gulping back the lump that formed in her throat, Kagome shook her head. "I..." looking at Jakotsu again, "...can't."

While Kagome was talking, Kouga grabbed her a chair from the dining room table, gently led her by the elbow, sat her down across the coffee table from Jakotsu, and left them to talk. Kagome hadn't realized he left the room until she looked for him, and when she noticed he wasn't there, she looked back at Jakotsu, just waiting for the same ass reaming she had gotten from Kyokotsu before she snapped back at him.

Jakotsu, however, merely looked at her, taking in what she was saying, and actually trying to understand her. He could have whatever motives he wanted, but in the end, if there was nothing to be done, there was nothing to be done. When she ended the way she did, stopping before she actually said what it was she couldn't do, he decided to start there. He kept all accusation out of his voice, and all it showed was pure curiosity. "You can't what?"

Though her voice was soft, it still carried the tone that said he should have known the answer. "Remember. Everything is overshadowed and just... it doesn't exist anymore. I used to be this..." Stopping for a moment, she reached down and picked up her purse from the floor next to her, setting in her lap and digging around as she continued speaking. "Person that loved to meet people, talk to them, get to know them. I'm not anymore. I used to be this..." Finding what she was looking for, she pulled out the bottle of eye drops, unscrewing the cap and, tilting her head back, tried to put in the drops as she kept talking. "...outgoing person that enjoyed being challenged and stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new things. I'm not anymore." Blinking her eyes, she dropped her arms and sighed. "I used to be his..."

When she lost eye contact and trailed off with that last statement, Jakotsu knew he was almost there, that all he had to do was get her to finish that thought and the puzzle would be solved and a solution could be figured out. However, he also heard the hitch in her voice and saw the glistening shine over her eye as she said it before she looked away, telling him more than anything else just how delicately he needed to tread. If he handled this wrong, it could actually become his fault she never went home, and dealing with his younger brother at that point would become impossible.

Instead of pushing right then, Jakotsu stood, making his way around the coffee table. Holding his hand out when he was standing in front of her, he gave Kagome a small smile. "Here, My Darling, let me help you." When she flicked her eyes to him, he lowered his voice in hopes of not being overheard to save her the embarrassment. "You missed."

Closing her eyes, Kagome swallowed hard as she all but slammed her eye drop bottle in Jakotsu's hand. "Of course, I did."

Following the directions Kagome gave him, and telling her to blink after each of the two eye drops, Jakotsu crouched as he screwed back on the cap, replacing the bottle in her purse and looking up at her after he did so. He took a deep breath to speak, but stopping himself, curling his tongue behind his teeth to give himself a longer moment to sit with was standing out in his mind, hoping beyond all literal measure there was some part of the girl he knew Kagome to be in there somewhere. He wasn't exactly a 'knight in shining armor' kind of guy, but then again, Kagome wasn't exactly a 'damsel in distress' either.

What she was waiting for, Kagome didn't know, but as the silence stretched on, she got so overly uncomfortable, she blurted out the last thing Jakotsu ever thought she would, and in a voice so quiet it could have been blown away if there was an open window.

"I was his Pretty Girl."

The statement about being able to be knocked over by a feather perfectly described what happened when those words were allowed to settle in Jakotsu's mind. He had been taken off guard before, and numerous times by this particular young lady, but never so much as to be rendered completely speechless. Breath stolen from him, Jakotsu gaped at the girl for a long moment, trying to get his voice to pass his lips, but he didn't speak any louder than she did when he finally succeeded in speaking. "Oh... Precious... I..."

He wasn't just going to ensure those two little bitches were fired, he was going make sure so much worse happened.

Kagome, however, had already looked away, not able to actually look someone in the eye anymore. Licking her lips, she sniffled as she cleared her throat. "I can't... face him. I can't... I can't see the hurt and sadness I'm causing him anymore." Looking back at Jakotsu, she swallowed hard. "When you marry someone after only twenty-seven days, you really love that person, and he deserves that person. He deserves the girl he married, and I'm not her anymore, and I don't think I can ever be that girl again. Just... just tell him I'm sorry."

Looking at the outstretched hand, knowing what laid inside, Jakotsu scratched the side of his nose before he stood up, looking down at her and crossing his arms. There was absolutely no way he was going to do that, and he made it perfectly clear. "No." When she flicked her eye up to him, he leveled her with a emotionless look. "I'm not your messenger, so if that's what you're going to do, you're going to do it yourself. Before you do, however, listen to me. You, My Precious Little Baby, are still acting like an idiot."

At this point, her rearing back from the statement worked well in his favor, because she kept her mouth shut. Since Plan A didn't work, it was on to Plan B, and he took a page from Kouga's playbook, deciding it was time for 'nice' to go out the window.

While not wholly looking down his nose at the girl, he certainly wasn't overly happy with her at the moment either, and his voice showed it more than his words. "Kagome, you are still every bit the person you were at the start of that fateful shift at the restaurant. I'm not insinuating nothing has changed, because a great deal has, but at your core, you are still the same the person you always where. Do you have a different perspective on certain aspects of life? I positive you do, but tell me, and be honest, do you still love Bankotsu?"

There was no hesitation on Kagome's part when she nodded with a whimpered 'yes', and Jakotsu pounced on it. "Then why in Kami's name are you going to give that horrible woman exactly what she wants?"

Once again looking away from his dark, piercing eyes, Kagome pressed her lips together. It took her several moments, but she finally cut her eyes back to Jakotsu and licked her lips. "You don't understand."

Taking a seat on the coffee table, Jakotsu didn't dispute that. "You're right, I don't; and it's very likely I never will." Balling his fists, he then set them on Kagome's needs and locked their eyes. "But, please, My Darling, before you make the biggest mistake of your life, think it through. That woman has already stolen so much from you; are you truly willingly give up the only thing left she hasn't taken? You have been married for five months, Kagome, three of which you spent in the hospital because of her. You nearly died as a result of her actions, Precious, and..."

At that point, Kagome couldn't take anymore, and snapped. "Exactly!" Narrowing her eyes as best she could, her voice rose in light of Jakotsu's shocked silence. "You don't understand, and I doubt you're even trying to. Look, I fully get the fact you're trying to save your brother from having his heart broken, and I am truly, truly sorry about that, but could you, for just a moment, try to see this from my perspective." Waiting for a moment to see if he was going to say anything, Kagome then swallowed hard and laid it all out for him.

"That psychotic twat, by your own admittance, nearly killed me. I almost died, Jakotsu, because of her, and I am fucking terrified of what will happen to me if she gets off and I'm still with him. Or, worse yet, if she doesn't, because they still haven't found her fucking brother. While there is a large amount of truth to it, it is, so much easier to say it's because Bankotsu doesn't deserve to have some disfigured creature as his wife for the rest of his life than it is to admit I am terrified. I can't sleep anymore because every little noise wakes me up. Is it Onigumo coming to get rid of the complainant so his sister gets off scot free, or is it a fucking squirrel in the tree outside my window? As far as I'm concerned, either one is just as likely as the other."

With a pause and a hard sniffle, she then roughly wiped the tears from her cheek as she shook her head. "In a matter of weeks, I have to look that woman in the eye and admit to everything about my life she destroyed. I have to be in the same room with the person that almost killed me. Call me a selfish bitch or whatever you want, I don't care, but I'm allowed to be scared. I'm allowed to be terrified. I am also, most certainly, allowed to do whatever I can to make some attempt at trying to feel safe again, even if you don't agree with how I decide to do it. Is it fair? Probably not, but you tell me, Jakotsu, what part of this is fucking fair?"

While she was talking, Jakotsu repositioned himself so his elbows were on his knees, his fingers laced together in front of his lips, and his chin settled on his thumbs. He had considered a great many thing being the reason behind her leaving, but this was one he hadn't come up with. Her original reason was what he had assumed to be the problem, and had it been, it would have been something of an easy fix if Bankotsu was willing to put in the effort, which Jakotsu was positive he was. Finding out, comparatively, it sounded like a relatively minor reason to what the real one was left Jakotsu nearly reeling. Kagome had legitimate concerns about her safety, and he knew there wasn't an easy way to settle those fears.

After several moments of deafening silence between them, Jakotsu lowered his hands to between his knees and tilted his head to the side. His voice was soft and for him, pretty subdued. "Have you, mmm... have you considered speaking with Ginkotsu about legal protections?"

To the question, Kagome cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Not... Ginkotsu, no. But I did talk to a couple different people in law enforcement before what happened at the governmental office and, um... they told me it wasn't worth pursuing."

Both brows slid up Jakotsu's forehead, his eyes widening and his lips parted as he jaw went lax. Staring at his sister in-law for longer than what would be considered polite, he finally made a strangled sounding noise in the back of his throat. "I'm... sorry, they what?" While he understood Bankotsu's decision not to renew his restraining order against Kagura due to the muddied waters of contractual obligations, there was no reason he could think of to tell an assault victim legal protection wasn't worth pursuing.

Kagome, though, just licked her lips and, with a shallow nod of her head, clicked her tongue. "They, um... they told me since the one that actually committed the assault was currently behind bars and they don't know where Onigumo is, it would just be a waste of a lot of people's time because, in the end, uh... a restraining order is just a piece of paper anyway." Looking back at Jakotsu, she shrugged. "So Kouga was right. I am hiding. I'm hiding because I don't know what else to do. Bankotsu has a life. I can't expect him to always be home, but there is always someone at the shrine, so I'm never completely alone. And, as long as I'm there, nothing will happen to him, either."

Beginning to understand why Sota had become such a dick, Jakotsu was finding it much harder to fault him for it. There were so many layers to this fucked up situation, and the longer the conversation continued, the worse it seemed to get. However, to hear Kagome had all but been abandoned and more or less told to fend for herself, he found himself getting very, very angry. The discovery that all of this was an attempt on her part to protect not just herself, but everyone she cared about due to that abandonment nearly left him seeing red.

However, it also gave him a starting point. It would be a massively long road, but so long as he had a place to begin, the coming rocks and hard places could be traversed.

So, with that in mind, he decided to do what he originally planned, and be on her side, since no one else seemed to be.

Once again placing his laced fingers on Kagome's knee, he let out a sigh as he looked at her through his lashes. "Alright, Precious, here's my proposal. Let me take you home, and to be clear I don't mean Sunset, I mean home. If you don't want to stay, I won't allow anyone to make you, and will personally take you back to the shrine myself. But, Ginkotsu is there, right now. Talk to him, tell him what was said to you, and let him take that nonsensical bullshit from there. I can almost guarantee with a single phone call, he can have whatever you want in place within an hour. While he's doing that, I will help you talk to Bankotsu."

Gulping down the lump in her throat, Kagome let out a shuttered breath as the tears that gathered in her eyes came out in her voice. "This being the second time I've done this now, so how do I even face him again?"

It was with a smile Jakotsu answered. "By holding your high with the knowledge you haven't don't anything wrong; either this time or before. Everyone does things when they're scared they wouldn't normally do. The last time you did something like this, you had known each other for all of three days and had just been threatened by someone who stands at seven fucking feet tall. This time, you have an understandable fear for your life, and you're trying to protect Bankotsu while trying to also protect yourself. You have absolutely no fault here, Kagome, but, if nothing else, if your mind is truly made up and nothing will change it, he does deserve for you to be the one to tell him so. Neither I nor anyone else will end your marriage for you, Precious; you will do it yourself."

Moving to the edge of the coffee table and changing his position so Kagome's knees were between his, he then took her unbandaged hand in both of his, looked her in the eyes, and lowered his voice. "But, if this really is all just because you're scared, Honey, there are hundreds of other options that don't involve taking just a drastic measure. You once complained about him skipping steps. Well, Precious, you're doing the same thing, and as a result, are about to make a mistake you cannot unmake. That is, of course, your choice, but as I said, it will be you that makes it."

On the other side of Jakotsu's phone that sat innocently face down on the coffee table, Bankotsu ended the call and returned to his position with his chin propped on his forearms that were folded on the counter of the island in his kitchen. He remained silent for a long moment before he flicked his eyes to Ginkotsu. His dull blue eyes showed every ounce of alcohol he had consumed, and his voice slurred slightly. "Do you think she'll come?"

Drumming his fingers on the polished stone of the counter, Ginkotsu pursed his lips as he considered the question. He didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want dash whatever hope his brother had. Instead, he was as truthful as he felt he could be. "I don't know, Bank, but I think that if anyone has the ability to make that happen, it's Jakotsu. I think... she has a lot going through her mind right now, and I doubt what Jakotsu got out of her so far is all of it. I think... you will need to be very patient, extremely understanding, and... sober. So, why don't you use this time to go get cleaned up and I'll make you some coffee."

Watching one brow slide up Bankotsu's forehead, Ginkotsu lost the tact and went with blunt. "You smell, Bankotsu, like a dirty distillery. Seriously, Man, you stink. Like... really bad. I would rather be in an overused port-a-potty than get any closer to you than I am right now because I'm positive it would smell better. Please, for the Gods, go shower... with bleach."

The look on Bankotsu's face was almost uncomprehending, and just when Ginkotsu thought Bankotsu was about to not do as he was told, Bankotsu sat up, smacked his hands on the edge of the counter, said 'okay', and pushed his stool back so he could get up.

Watching his little brother head for his room, Ginkotsu waited until Bankotsu shut his bedroom door before he went about making a pot of coffee and putting forth a very valiant attempt to air out the house Bankotsu had funked up over the last near week with a lack of personal hygiene, a massive amount of alcohol, and several packs of cigarettes.


	22. Chapter 22

The first ten minutes back at home for Kagome were about the most tense and awkward of her entire fucking life. There wasn't even really a reason for it since she spent those ten minutes by herself, standing at the kitchen island, while Jakotsu went out to the back deck to have a preemptive word with both Bankotsu and Ginkotsu, where he made it perfectly clear he wasn't going to allow either one of them to use guilt to force her to anything she didn't want to; up to and including, staying at the house. If she wanted to leave, she could, and they would both allow her to so without any form of negative reaction while she was present.

While he hadn't been able to get her to admit it in so many words, Jakotsu stressed to his younger brother the fact that, for the last three months, Kagome's every decision was made for her, and this was as much about her trying to take back some form of control over her life as it was anything else he had heard during that phone call. He was going to have to do what he did, which was back off and allow her to lead the conversation. The last restriction he put on Bankotsu was, under absolutely no circumstances, was he allowed to ask what she did to her hand. Though that restriction got an arched brow from Bankotsu, Jakotsu said nothing else about it. That, however, was more because Jakotsu knew just how high strung Bankotsu was currently, and he didn't really have any current desire to plan Kyokotsu's funeral once the hot headed bastard found out his wife physically hurt herself because of him.

Before Jakotsu would allow Bankotsu to enter the house, it was with beseechment in his voice he reminded him Kagome was a victim, that was exactly what she was acting like, before he all but begged the man to just listen, that most of what was going on had very little, if anything, to do with him. What little did have to do with him wasn't really that bad, _if_ he handled it properly. He told him what he had to remember was Kagome did love him, what she did was what she truly thought was best for everyone, and that he needed to put himself aside and try to understand her perspective. He also took that moment to stress that Kagome made a very valid point when she said no one had to like her decision, but it was hers to make when it came to her leaving.

The last thing Jakotsu said to his brother before he moved out of his way was that, regardless of what it currently felt like, he was not the wronged party, and if he went at Kagome like that was the case, the entire thing would be over before it started. Jakotsu had complete confidence that if Bankotsu was patient, but more importantly calm, everything would come out, and then they could work together to fix the issues she laid out for them. It wouldn't be something that happened overnight, and that was something else Bankotsu needed to understand. It wasn't overnight she decided to leave, and it wouldn't be overnight she would decide to come home.

Bankotsu discovered, very quickly, that Jakotsu had been mostly right about what he said prior to sitting down at the kitchen island. She had chosen to set at the far end, and he had turned the stool to her left from where she was sitting when he came inside, just so he could look at her, but noticed right off the bat, she would not make eye contact with him. But it wasn't just him she wouldn't do that with. He watched her glance in Ginkotsu's general direction when she talked to him first, as intended, about what happened when she attempted to get some kind of legal protections against the still missing Naraku, but she wouldn't look him in the eye either. Mostly, she just looked at the counter.

As far as the talk with Ginkotsu went, he only asked her two questions; who she talked to, and when she couldn't remember the names, he asked what numbers she called. When he asked that, she pulled out her cell phone, scrolled through her call log, handed it to Ginkotsu, and pointed the numbers out she called. She had nodded to him when he asked for her permission to take her phone with him outside to the patio, and gave him the code to unlock the phone if he needed it.

Once Ginkotsu got up and went outside, Kagome knew it was the moment of truth, that she had to say something, but for whatever reason, nothing came to mind. She knew 'sorry' wasn't going to cut it, but she couldn't think of anything to say in lieu of it, so she just stayed silent. She did, however, turn her head enough so she could cut her eyes to him, but after a moment, she dropped her sight back to the countertop. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for, if she was waiting for him to yell or what, but all Bankotsu did was sit back in his stool with his arms crossed.

There wasn't anything about him that screamed for her to hurry up and start talking. There wasn't even anything that said he was angry with her, and his eyes didn't ask her anything she didn't have an answer to. Even still, she continued to remain quite, almost hoping he would start things out with his normal blunt manner of 'what the fuck'. That, though, isn't what happened. Bankotsu also remained quiet, giving his brother the benefit of the doubt, and doing things his way, since it was Jakotsu's way that got her home... even if it wasn't necessarily for good just yet.

It had taken a pretty decent amount of probing and prodding on Jakotsu's part, but eventually, the dam broke on Kagome's verbal filter, and she regurgitated exactly what she had told Jakotsu at Kouga's place, only backwards, starting first with the fact that she was afraid to be alone, and she couldn't ask Bankotsu to always stay home with her. She told him she went back to the shrine because, for the time being anyway, Sota was done with school and wouldn't start his college courses for another couple of weeks.

Bankotsu listened to her every word without a single interruption because, regardless of what anyone thought, he did understand where she was coming from as far as that particular situation went. He agreed she absolutely had every reason to be afraid of someone who had a hand in what happened to her that hadn't been found yet, and he had first hand experience in just how far that son of a bitch would go for his sister. While Kagome's decision was certainly less than desirable, he couldn't, and didn't, fault her for it. As she spoke, he cataloged it all and as she continued, he formed plans in his mind of what he could do to, maybe, ease that fear a bit.

While it had been his _plan_ to stay silent until she deemed herself done, the _practice_ of that plan was much different. When she reached the part of her previous conversation he hadn't heard because it was too quiet, he couldn't help it. When she said 'I used to be your Pretty Girl', he snorted so hard in the cup of coffee Ginkotsu was forcing him to drink he nearly choked on it.

With a hand over his mouth as he set the cup down harder than he meant to, he completely ignored his glaring brother as he wiped his chin and grinned at his wide eyed wife. Shaking his head slightly, there was a disbelieving chuckle in his voice. "What do you mean 'used to be'?

He watched as Kagome sort of waved her fingers at her cheek, and he closed his eyes as he rubbed his fingertips across his forehead. Smile still in place, he opened his eyes, but kept his head propped against his fingers. "Baby, that... that never had anything to with what you looked like."

Kagome could have been knocked out of her seat by his words alone. Unable to help it, she did choke on her breath as she blinked at him. Her voice, though, was barely there when she finally got her tongue to work. "It didn't?"

Smile growing to a grin, Bankotsu shook his head. "No. I mean, I'm not going to sit here and pretend you don't look a little different than you did. That's not true, you do, but Jesus Kagome, you're still every bit as gorgeous as the day we met. _I_ still think you're fucking stunning, but you're just... you're just a really pretty person, and that has nothing to do with what you look like on the outside."

When Kagome didn't say anything after a moment, Bankotsu moved the coffee cup out of his way and, taking a chance because he really wasn't sure she would let him, he set his hand over hers on the counter, letting out a hard breath from his nose when she didn't pull away. Licking his lips, and continuing to ignore Jakotsu, he stretched his brow. "The night we met, you were at place you were clearly uncomfortable, attending a birthday party for someone you never met, and were the only one to think of getting me a present."

Scoffing under his breath, Jakotsu mumbled. "If you wanted something, all you had to do was ask."

Under his breath or not, Bankotsu heard him and as a result, his face fell into one of irritation as he cut his eyes to his brother. "Can we have a minute?"

Lips pursing, Jakotsu looked to Kagome, and didn't get up until she nodded. Casting Bankotsu a warning look, to which Bankotsu rolled his eyes, Jakotsu got up from the island and headed for the backyard.

Shaking his head once again, Bankotsu returned his eyes to his wife, and once again hoping for damn near a miracle, he wrapped his fingers around hers, giving her hand a slight tug. He watched indecision pass through her eyes and her teeth sink into her bottom lip, but after a moment, she did get up from her own stool and allowed him to pull her to stand between his legs.

Releasing her hand and lacing his fingers together behind Kagome's back, Bankotsu sighed quietly and clicked his tongue, but before he could continue with what he was saying, Kagome beat him to talking.

"Why do you keep forgiving me?"

To the question, Bankotsu merely shrugged. "You make it really easy when you haven't done anything wrong. This isn't forgiveness, Baby Girl, because there isn't anything to forgive. I knew something was wrong, and I didn't ask about it. That's not your fault, it's mine. Honestly, I wasn't all that surprised when I came home and you weren't here, though that said I was pretty damn scared when no one seemed to know where you were."

Looking away from his raised brow, Kagome cringed slightly. "Sorry." Flicking her eyes back to his, she licked her lips. "I didn't... I wasn't not going to come back but... but once I got to the shrine I just..." Shaking her head, once again left with very little to say in defence, she blurted out the only reason she had. "I had done it again and... I didn't think..."

When she trailed off again, Bankotsu smiled as he leaned into her, butting her nose to catch her attention. When he had her eyes, he lowered his voice. "This was different, Baby. Even the last time you tried to walk away wasn't without reason; I just didn't care for the bullshit reason. That's not to say I'm fan this time, but this time, the root of the problem isn't some ridiculous bullshit. This time the problems are very real, and something you have been mostly left to deal with on your own... which is also very much my fault, at least since you've been home. I could have done more, and for that, I will ask you to forgive me."

Biting into the inside of her cheek, Kagome began to play with the buttons on Bankotsu's shirt, just so that some part of her was moving. She considered what he said, but even after several long moments of thought, she still didn't agree with him. So with a quiet sigh, she flicked her eyes back to his. "It wasn't like I was talking, so..."

Bankotsu nodded slowly when she trailed off with a shrug, but still wouldn't allow her to let him off the hook he knew he deserved to be on. He refused to let her shoulder anything else that wasn't her doing. "Maybe, but, I could have asked, and you would have told me, or at least tired to."

Kagome, however, shook her head. "I can't say I would have, though. I mean, I haven't seen you in a nearly a week, and I still don't..." Cut off by the sound of shattering glass, Kagome jumped a mile out of her skin. "What was that?"

Shaking his head as he slid his hands from Kagome's back to her hips, he gently forced her a step back so he could get up. "I don't know."

They weren't the only ones that heard it, and when Ginkotsu and Jakotsu came in to ask the same thing Kagome had, but before they could, through the open patio doors, heard the sound of tires squealing.

Sliding out from in front of his wife, Bankotsu told Kagome to stay where she was before heading to the front door, stopping at the entryway table. Opening the drawer, he pulled out the gun that laid inside, grinning towards his wife when she, rather loudly exclaimed 'how long as has that been there?'. There was a chuckle in his voice as he cocked the chamber and set his hand on the doorknob. "Since the day I moved in."

She didn't get to say anything else before Bankotsu and his brothers went outside to find out what was going on. Honestly, she wasn't sure how she felt about finding out there had been a gun in the house the entire time she had lived there. Even though she knew the had their uses, she didn't like them, because her father had been murdered by one when she was a kid. However, she didn't really dwell on it long once she was inside by herself. Her once favorite feature about the house, the entire wall of glass doors, set a rock in her gut because she was alone, everyone else was out front, and the doors were open.

Leaving her purse and cane where they rested on the counter, Kagome darted as fast as she felt safe doing so through the living room and to the bedroom she had been sharing with Bankotsu since she came home from the hospital. Bankotsu had long since moved any obstacles that could have caused her injury, as long as she didn't cut the hallway entry too close because there wasn't a lot he could do about walls, so as long as she paid attention to that clearance, she had nothing standing between her and hiding. The room she went to didn't have windows that face the front or the back of the house, and the window was high enough off the ground that the only person she knew that could see inside without something to help them do it was Kyokotsu.

The teddy bear Bankotsu got her when she was in the hospital still sat on the bed where she left it, and she snagged it before she wedged herself on the floor between the wall and her bedside table.

Bankotsu and his brothers got outside just in time to see a busted up, piece of shit old car cut the corner at the top of the street, blowing the stop sign and damn near hitting another car, that had the right of way, in the process. Clearing the chamber, Bankotsu shook his head as he slipped his gun into the back of his belt before turning to see what the fuck the son of a bitch did, and saw his brothers standing behind, and looking at the shattered back window of Jakotsu's car.

As he approached, he overheard them discussing whether or not to call the police, and it was to Bankotsu's shock, it was Jakotsu who was against it. Being his car it was really his decision, but it wasn't until Jakotsu pointed out the brick in the car with a piece of paper with Kagome's name on it wrapped around the object Bankotsu understood why. She had already tried to involve the police, and they didn't do anything. Plus, Jakotsu pointed out no one had seen it happen, so they couldn't prove who it was that did it, and he had enough experience with his shit getting fucked up to know that without proof, the police wouldn't do anything but maybe make a report for the insurance company, and that was only if he threw a big enough hissy fit.

Setting a hand on his brother's shoulder and giving it a squeeze, Bankotsu then went to the driver's door, opened it up, and climbing in, picked up the brick. Setting his feet on the driveway, he pulled off the rubber band and after dropping the brick to the pavement, unfolded the note that was left, and snorted hard when he read it.

"That stupid mother fucker." Slapping the paper into Ginkotsu's outstretched hand, Bankotsu stood with another shake of his head. "He didn't even get the right fucking car."

Jakotsu watched as Bankotsu headed back inside to try and calm down his wife, and once he was out of sight, looked to Ginkotsu. "What is he talking about?"

Glancing first to the front door, Ginkotsu then held out the note left to Kagome. "Apparently, the stupid bastard thought your car was Bankotus's."

Lip curling as he glanced at the paper, Jakotsu scoffed. "On what planet would a multimillionaire own a seven year old coup? I don't think I have ever seen our brother drive the same car for longer than a year." Actually reading the note, he then shook his head.

 _Drop the charges, or next time it won't the basturd's car that get hit with a brik_

Rolling his eyes as he crumpled the note in his hands, Jakotsu snorted. "I'll assume he was trying to be funny with how he spelled bastard, but then again, you certainly can't expect miracles from a moron that can't even spell the word 'brick'." A very serious look then settled on Jakotsu's face as he tossed the wadded up note to the passenger floorboard of his car, crossed his arms, and looked up at Ginkotsu. "This was her greatest fear, Ginko. How the hell is he going to be able to convince her it's safe for her to come home to him now?"

Slipping his fingers into his hair, Ginkotsu laced his fingers together behind his head as he slowly shook it. "I have, absolutely, no, idea." After a moment, he sighed as he crossed his own arms. "I suppose we'll get have to wait and see how he explains this."

What neither of them knew was, Bankotsu had already figured that out, and nowhere in his explanation did he plan on telling her about the note.

After the mini-heart attack of walking inside and not seeing Kagome in the kitchen where he left her and the short, yet still somewhat frantic search for her, he sighed when he poked his head in the back bedroom and saw her curled in a ball in the corner. Pulling his gun from his belt and flipping on the safety, he set it on the dresser and slowly made his way around the bed, crouching when he was still a couple of feet from her so he didn't scare her. Keeping his voice soft, he licked his lips. "'Gome?"

Though she tightened her grip on the bear, she did pull her face out of the back of its neck, looking at Bankotsu through blurry, tear filled vision. "This... this is why I didn't come back. Now he knows where you live, too, and..."

Though his lips puckered at her choice of words when she basically referred to their home as only his, he still gave a small shrug. "So what?" When she jerked back with a blink, he smirked. "I'm not afraid of the son of a bitch. I wasn't afraid of him five years ago, and I'm not afraid of him now. There are three cars in the driveway, and he targeted Jakotsu's, that isn't even the closest one to the street. That would have been Ginkotsu's. He's a fucking coward, Kagome, going after a woman and a gay man. Not that Jakotsu can't handle himself if he has to, but I call him Princess for a reason, and it has absolutely nothing to do with his sexual preference."

Kagome licked her lips and sniffled. "But I am afraid of him."

Without even thinking about it, Bankotsu shrugged again. "Then we'll move."

Once again rearing back, more from the offhanded tone of his voice, Kagome choked. "What?" Shaking her head, Kagome refuted the offer. "No, not after everything you went through with this place and all the money you sank into it. You haven't even lived her for a year, Bank. No, I can't let you do that."

Bankotsu just leveled her with a look. "Do you really think I give a shit where I live?" When she just blinked, he positioned himself so he was sitting down, one leg bent in front of him, the other propped up by his foot. Draping one arm over his knee, he grabbed his wrist with the other, and smiled. "The fact of the matter is, if you're not here, I don't want to be here anyway. Call me crazy, but I would prefer to, you know, live with my wife. But, if you don't feel safe here, then there really isn't another option, is there?" Pausing for a moment as his eyes crinkled in thought, before Kagome could once again tell him 'no', he clicked his tongue. "Actually... maybe there is."

Seeing something spark in the back of Bankotsu's narrowed eyes, Kagome felt something tighten in her stomach. The last time she saw that look overtake his face, they ended up in the battle over the lien against the shrine, and with so much other shit going on, fighting with him wasn't something she wanted to add to her already fucked up day.

So, when after a moment Bankotsu stood up and held out a hand to her with a 'come with me', she placed her unbandaged hand in his and let him help her to her feet without asking him anything. If nothing else, she would at least hear what he had come up with because, really, it was the least she could do. She didn't put her bear down, but did close her hand when Bankotsu laced their fingers together, and let him lead her back into the great room where Jakotsu and Ginkotsu were waiting at the kitchen island, both with smiles on their faces when the couple came back together and not one or the other to ask one of them to take Kagome back to the shrine.

Bankotsu, who only had eyes for Ginkotsu as he pulled his wife to stand between him and the counter, cocked his head. "Ginko, do you have Ryu's number?"

Blinking at the randomness of the question, Ginkotsu wrinkled his nose. "Ryu? As in... Mom and Dad's attorney, Ryu?" At Bankotsu's nod, he looked to the ceiling. "Uhh... I'm sure I do somewhere in my office." Looking back at his brother, "why?"

Wrapping one arm around Kagome's waist and propping his foot on the bar of the stool that was next to him, Bankotsu licked his lips. "Does he still have the keys to the manor?"

Without missing a beat, Ginkotsu snorted as he crossed his arms. "Fucker better still have the keys to the manor. He is still the Executor of the their estate until the seven of us figure out what we went to do with the house."

Drumming his fingers on the counter, Bankotsu cocked a brow. "It's been over a decade since our parents died. Don't you think it's time we figured that out?"

Jakotsu, having figured out where Bankotsu was going, smirked as he laced his fingers together, propping his chin on them as he leaned on the island. "You want the manor, don't you?"

While Bankotsu cut his eyes to Jakotsu, he just as quickly returned them to Ginkotsu, waiting for him to, basically, draw that same conclusion, because he knew there would be something more to it than just asking for the keys.

And Ginkotsu did not disappoint. Scratching in front of his ear, he made a noise in the back of his throat. "Bank, if it was up to me, I would say yes, but we all seven own a share. So, you'll have to convince the other five of us to agree to this before I call anyone for the keys."

"Four." Looking around the room and at the two sets of eyes that were looking at him, Jakotsu shrugged. "What? Bankotsu has a point. The place has been all but sitting abandoned since he moved out after he graduated. Prior to that, he was a minor without legal standing to have input on the fate of the house, and since he has come of age, we just don't talk about it because it generally leads to a fight. It hasn't even been brought up in over five years, and the last time it was, was when Kyokotsu wanted to move to back in after he was kicked out of his apartment because he ran out of money to pay his rent."

Ginkotsu didn't dispute any of that. However, he did still have a rebuttal. "And, sorry, Bank, but Bankotsu was the one who was the most adamant against it."

Before Bankosu could say a word, Jakotsu beat him to it. "And in what universe, Ginkotsu, would Kyokotsu have ever been able to take care of it? That man-child can barely take care of his damn self, and you, Ren, and Sui thought he could somehow take care of a twenty acre estate? That was three against three because Kyokotsu's vote didn't count, and Mukotsu and I agreed with Bankotsu. I mean... Fuck, Ginko, you have seen the fate of Sui's house since he moved in. What in Kami's name would have stopped him from doing the same damn thing to the manor?"

Opening his mouth and pointing a finger at Jakotsu, who was looking at him with a raised brow, Ginkotsu just as quickly lowered his hand. "Fair point."

Giving a jerky nod, Jakotsu crossed his arms. "And here is another one. There are priceless items to our family still inside, that do, in fact, have a price... and impressive ones at that. What would have stopped him from selling those off to feed his ridiculous obsession with cards?" When Ginkotsu scratched the tip of his wrinkled nose and didn't offer an answer, Jakotsu nodded again before looking to Bankotsu. "Do you think you can get all your ducks in a row by seven this evening?"

Glancing over at the clock and seeing it was going on three, Bankotsu shrugged. "Maybe."

Grinning at his only younger brother, Jakotsu chuckled. "I guess we'll see how badly you want the manor, won't we?" Winking at Bankotsu, he looked back to Ginkotsu. "Go find the old man's number and I'll text everyone else and tell them to meet us at there around seven."

Ginkotsu lifted a brow. "And if he's not avaliable?"

Jakotsu leveled him with a look. "He's been holding on a key to an off limits property for the better part of a decade. I'm sure he'll take an hour to drop it off, if even just to give it to you to be rid of it."


	23. Chapter 23

Renkotsu, Mukotsu, Suikotsu, and Kyokotsu sat at the dining table of their parents house in the closest thing to shock they had felt in a pretty long time. Why, though, none of them really knew because for the last several months, Bankotsu had certainly taken them on one hell of an emotional ride. While they would all be lying if they said they hadn't thought their youngest brother had lost his damn mind when he married his wife after only knowing her for twenty seven days, they would also be lying if they said they weren't both shocked and impressed with how he handled everything that had been thrown at them since they got married.

Barring the last week, of course.

While still slightly upset with Kagome over her vanishing act, after finding out from Jakotsu why she did it, and that the one and only time she had ventured outside since she returned to the Shrine she had been followed and his car was vandalized in Bankotsu's as a result, they couldn't find fault in her decision not to return, anymore. They all knew the kind of person Kagome was, and though none of them ever thought there was any malicious intent on her part, it was hard to see their baby brother in the state he had ended up in when she didn't come home after a day or two.

Then, there was the last hour they spent in the same room with her.

Most of the conversation had been spent with her looking at the table, Bankotsu talking for her, many times her eyes averting off to the side while her face took on an expression of complete embarrassment. While the first couple of times they thought she deserved it, the longer and more in depth Bankotsu went, the more the four Akasakis sitting across from her began to feel really bad for her.

It hadn't taken them very long into the conversation to all draw the same conclusion as to what they thought Bankotsu wanted. The Manor itself sat 200 yards off the road behind an electronic gate and a ten foot wall, which surrounded the entire twenty square acre property. While today it would be vastly outdated, it also had a state of the art, at the time of installation, security system. Currently it was skeleton, but there was an on-property staff that remained after Bankotsu moved out to keep the house itself from falling into complete disrepair until the seven of them decided what they wanted to do with it, so there was always someone present.

To someone who had a clearly violent stalker, or was who was married to someone that had a clearly violent stalker, it was a very attractive place to be.

The problem for Bankotsu, so they thought, was that none of the brothers were allowed to reside within the manor for any period of time without the permission of the other six, and other than what was left behind in their personal bedrooms when they moved out, everything within the four walls belonged to all of them; down to the very last candlestick. Both of those provisions were put in place by their parents so that the older siblings couldn't shaft the younger ones when it came to division of physical property, and so that no one was put out should they ultimately decide to sell the house.

The shock of their lives came when, at the end of the conversation, Bankotsu made it clear he didn't just want to stay at the manor until Kagura's trial was over and Naraku was found, he wanted to takeover ownership of it.

And they were not the only ones Bankotsu shocked with that revelation. The way Kagome's eyes all but bugged out of her head and the way she whipped around to stare up at the man that had been standing behind her the entire talk, told the four brothers that sat across from them that the two were, clearly, still not talking about the big shit. Not only did they watch Kagome's stomach drop out of her asshole, they saw her turn a shade of green to make Kermit the Frog jealous.

Bankotsu, however, had just sat one hand on her shoulder and reached into his inner jacket pocket, pulling out six envelopes, and lightly tossed them on the table. At that point, the decision was out of his hands, and in the hands of his six brothers.

It was Suikotsu that made the first move, a full five minutes after Bankotsu had stopped talking, and picked up the envelope with his name on it, which was the one on top. Flicking his eyes to Bankotsu, he turned the envelope over, lifted the flap, and pulled out the check he figured was inside, but he choked on his tongue when he saw what it was made out for. Doing the math in his head, he dropped his hands on the table, hiding the check face from the others that sat round him, and locked his eyes on Bankotsu's as he shook his head. "No, Bank. This isn't happening."

Slowly arching a brow, Bankotsu crossed his arms. "It's fair."

Suikotsu, however, disagreed. "To fucking who?" Turning the check to face his baby brother, Suikotsu pointed at it. "This right here? This is sentiment, when selling a house is business. If my math is right, and I'm positive it is, if those envelopes contain the same thing as this... there is just under two million dollars sitting on this table right now, and this place, with the state of grounds, the updates needed to just meet today's building codes, plus numerous renovations to bring it up to an updated standard of living? This place isn't worth half of that... if that." Shaking his head as he tossed the three hundred thousand dollar check and its envelope back onto the pile, he crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. "If we wouldn't sell it to a perfect fucking stranger for two million, I'm not agreeing to selling it to you for that, either."

Letting his eyes roam the four brothers he needed to convince, and seeing them all looking at him with matching expressions, Bankotsu sighed through his nose as he leaned his folded arms on the back of Kagome's chair. "So... you won't let me buy the house, then?"

Suikotsu slowly shook his head. "Not for some magical price you pulled out of your ass just because we used to live here and you thought we would say yes to it. While I admit to not being the most well versed in real estate, even I know the land itself isn't worth more than a couple grand an acre, a hundred, maybe a hundred fifty grand total, and in no universe are you going to convince me this house is worth two million in this market and in its current condition. You could tear this place down to the foundation and completely rebuild it to code and with all the bells and whistles you want for less than that."

Suikotsu looked around at his brothers, seeing them all nod their agreement, and then returned his eyes to Bankotsu. "Look, none of us really want to sell it to someone else. It's why it's been sitting vacant for so long. It's why when it's brought up we always fight about it, because it's our personal experience at the time that dictates our decision over whether to keep it or sell it. That said, if you want the house, Bank, you can have it because none of us want it, but none of us are going to take advantage of the fact we know you can afford what you've literally laid on the table, nor are any of us going to take advantage of what is going on with Kagome and ask for some ridiculous amount of money to buy out our claims to the estate.

"If you want us to agree to this, this is what you're going to do. You're going to leave the damn place alone, and get an agent out here to appraise it _as is_. You will not so much as have the fucking grass cut before then or the deal is off. Once we know what the structure and grounds are actually worth, we use _that_ price to sell you our shares of the house, and not some random number dictated by sentimental value. If any of us where that attached to the place, this wouldn't be the first time one of us asked to buy out the rest of us, even if there is enough attachment not to sell it so some random person off the street."

Before Bankotsu could say anything back to that, Ginkotsu dropped the keys Ryu dropped off at his office earlier in the evening on the table in front of Kagome, making her gulp and Bankotsu look at his brother with a raised brow.

Ginkotsu just shrugged. "As far as we're concerned, the house is already yours, Man. At this point, it's just semantics. I have the deed in my office, so after the appraisal is finished and everything else is done, I'll bring it over, you sign it, and the estate is legally yours. Shouldn't take more than a week or two to get the report since the roof isn't caving in and the basement isn't flooded. Since it's a buyout to an already partial owner and not a sale to a stranger, it'll be handled between us, and my guess being the day the appraisal comes in, so there isn't really any reason you and Kagome can't stay here until then."

At the end of Ginkotsu's statement, Jakotsu perked right right up. A wide grin on his lips, he propped his head up against his knuckles, and pointed a finger at a strangely pale Kagome. "Since, My Darling, I was deprived of a wedding, so you must let me help you redesign this place."

The only way to describe the expression that overtook Kagome's face was to call it one of absolute fucking horror.

However, as it turned out, for as terrified as she was at the prospect of remodeling that big ass house, after Bankotsu's brothers left, Bankotsu giving Kyokotsu the keys to his house to keep an eye on it for him while he was dealing with everything that went with the buying of manor, and he had given her an actual tour of the place and not just pointing out what it was she could see from the massive entry, Kagome had actually discovered she did not at all care for much of the layout, or at least for the way the layout was used.

The first floor was, more or less, what it was. When you walked in through the double door entry, you were greeted by the sight of a massive staircase to the second floor, that split halfway down and to either side of the foyer. Feng Shui, at its finest, Kagome supposed. Then again, over the course of the tour, and after, with a chuckle, Bankotsu had told her his mother had been the one to design it, she learned that Mrs. Akasaki had very eclectic taste. While the outside of the main house was very traditionally Japanese as far as the architecture went, the inside was very western world, so why not some Chinese influences as well? As far as that went, if that was the case, it certainly explained why some of the rooms she had seen were used for something other than what they were clearly intended to be used for.

On the first floor, to the left of the entry, was the dining room which led to the kitchen, and to the right was the living room that spanned that entire side of the house. Under the second floor and to the right of the stairs was a study, and Bankotsu intended to keep it that way and use it as his office as his father used it. To the right of the stairs was a tea room, which was when Bankotsu chimed in again, saying he never understood why it was there because his parents both disliked tea and both found the ceremonies to be incredibly boring. Directly behind the staircase and between those two rooms was the only bathroom on the first floor, and just like the kitchen, the living room, the study, and the tea room, it also had a set of double glass doors that led to the very impressive back patio.

It was the second floor she didn't care for. She did understand room had to be found for seven boys, but you could tell by the spacing of the doors the second floor had undergone remodeling in the past. At each end of the hall was a master suit, but the one over the kitchen was relegated to a game room for the brothers with more shit in it than an arcade, and the one over the living room was their parent's room. That wasn't that bad. In all honesty, it made sense to do that. The door closest to their parent's old room led to the attic, where there were three more bedrooms and another bathroom.

It was as Bankotsu was pointing out which door belonged to which son, he confirmed to her that the two rooms in the middle were originally one room that was split in two to make Kyokotsu's room and Jakotsu's room. The other two rooms on the second floor were Mukotsu's and Bankotsu's, Bankotsu's being the one closest the game room and the Mukotsu's next to the attic entry. Between Mukotsu's room and Kyokotsu's room, and between Jakotsu's room and Bankotsu's rooms were Jack and Jill bathrooms, meaning unless you went into one of the bedrooms, there wasn't a bathroom on that floor, and that was something she personally wasn't a fan of. She did understand the entire floor was designed with a massive amount of kids in mind, but Kagome had no intention of _having_ that many tiny humans, and if Bankotsu did, there would be a long discussion in their future over who's uterus it was.

Sure, she did want kids, but not her own personal army. She was good with two, maybe three, but not for another couple of years, and she knew she wanted them a couple of years apart. In no way did she want be in Ayame's shoes and pregnant with number two before number one was even crawling.

It was after the tour was done and she and Bankotsu were sitting out on the patio he asked her what she thought, and though she did hesitate, she told him it was nice, which wasn't a lie, it was. It was seven thousand square foot marble masterpiece, and that was just the main house. That didn't count the pool house she hadn't seen the inside of, or the other dwelling on the property where the live-in staff resided.

Bankotsu, however, just smirked at her as he brought his beer to his lips, a knowing gleam in his eyes. Licking his lips and swallowing his mouthful, he slowly nodded his head with a hum in his throat as he placed his ankle on his knee. "So, what you're saying is... you even like the paint colors." After a moment, he shrugged as he cut his eyes from the pool to his wife. "Should be an easy renovation, then."

Doing her best to swallow the gag at the thought of looking at seafoam and coral for the foreseeable future, Kagome fought off the shudder of pure revolution as she shook her head. "It's your house, Bankotsu. Not really my place to have an opinion on what goes on the walls."

Snorting with a hard roll of his eyes, Bankotsu shook his own head as he reached into his jacket. "It's my parent's house." Pulling out the last remaining envelope that remained in his inner pocket, he rolled his head along the back of his chair as he held his offering out to his wife between two fingers. "But... with some work, it could be our house."

Sitting up as she set down the glass of water she had been holding, Kagome took the presented envelope, holding it in both hands as she stared at it. She knew what it was, but that didn't prevent her heart from stopping for a beat when she opened it and pulled out her direct allocation from the lawsuit. There was something very surreal for her to see a two million dollar check with her name on the 'Pay to the Order of' line. If she was being completely truthful, she still wasn't even used to seeing her new last name in writing, so that just added a whole other level of something she couldn't name.

She wasn't sure exactly when it was she was going to receive the check, but again, if she was being honest, she still wasn't sure what it was she wanted to do with it. There was no part of her that wanted to take money from Toga, because she didn't feel as though he held that kind of blame for what happened. She didn't think just because it was his business it happened in he should be held liable for the actions of someone else. She didn't want to add to the crucifixion he was dealing with in the news because someone at the hospital wanted to make a quick buck after overhearing some of the conversations she and Bankotsu had over the walkie talkies.

And the news organizations pounced on it because the other employees at Kamano weren't talking, the police weren't forthcoming with information in an ongoing investigation, and none of the customers that were there were coming forth as being present when it happened. While it turned into a huge story on the six o'clock news, and hadn't completely died out yet, not everything that was said was wrong.

Toga had been very distracted by what was going on with Inuyasha, and even she had to agree he wasn't really paying all that much attention to what was going on in the restaurant. If he had been, he would have noticed, or at least listened to someone else, when it came to the fact Onigumo couldn't cook for shit, if he managed to get an order out at all. If the man would have been able to keep personal issues separate from professional issues, there was a very high probability Onigumo would have been fired long before he overheated that bowl of chowder.

There had actually been many rather heated debates on the news as far as Toga's legal liability went, and after the first one she saw, she found out it wasn't even because she was married to Bankotsu it was such a huge topic of conversation. During that first segment, she found out there were a lot of people that were sick and tired of restaurant owners and management getting free passes for injuries sustained by the staff due to the owner's or management's oversights. They felt there was no real accountability when it came to the part of their job that included keeping the staff safe.

She listened with rapt attention as the 'incident involving Mrs. Akasaki', as it was referred to, was likened to a slip and fall in the kitchen. Something would have caused that to occur, such as something split on the floor, a puddle of water, a piece of ice, and it would have fallen on the shoulders of management or, in the case of Toga who was present for the 'incident', to ensure the floor was cleaned up. Even though they weren't the reason there was something on the floor, that still didn't dissolve them of any part of the responsibility for an resulting injury due to not making sure the work environment was safe.

The rebuttal was easy enough to see coming; Kagome was injured by a patron, which is not technically defined as a 'workplace injury'. It was considered assault and battery, and was being treated as such.

She was surprised how quickly the one on the side of restaurant employees fired back that, had Toga been paying an ounce of attention to his employee, and it didn't matter whether or not Onigumo was only there for the purpose of doing what he had done, he had cashed a paycheck, therefore was a legal employee, it wouldn't have been able to happen because Toga would have seen soup was too hot to serve. That same lady then asked a question not even Kagome herself considered prior to her asking it; what would have happened had she tripped or somehow dropped that bowl of soup on someone else? There would have been no question to the legal liability of the restaurant, so why was there was question to it just because Kagome was an employee instead of a customer?

Then, on live TV, the service industry champion looked her debate partner in the eyes and said, 'I hope it's true and Mrs. Akasaki does sue the balls off Tanaka, because then maybe other restaurant owners would get a clue and understand that just because someone works for tips doesn't mean they don't deserve a safe place to work. They treat their cooks like their Kami, going out of their way to make sure the back of the house is comfortable while leaving the servers to deal with whatever abuse the customers decide to throw at them. In Mrs. Akasaki's case, she not only lost her job, but the ability to ever work again. She's in the hospital right now, trying to recover from an assault that could have easily been prevented had Toga Tanaka done his damn job and oversaw his restaurant. If you want to be an owner, then own everything that goes with it, including the responsibility and, more importantly, the accountability that goes with it'.

It wasn't really all that surprising the other guy didn't have a whole lot to say back to that.

While the news segments that followed that one made equally valid points, they hadn't completely swayed Kagome to side against Toga. Then again, she also had to consider whether or not that was just because she did actually like the man, and if she would feel differently if she had a boss she hated. If that was the case, would she have asked Bankotsu for more details about the suit? Would she have asked what he was asking for in compensation? Would she, if she didn't like Toga as a person, turned around and demanded more than what she got?

She didn't have an answer to any of that.

The one thing that had never really left her mind since it was thrown out there was... what would have happened if she would've dropped that chowder on someone else? While it wasn't commonplace, kids did attend dinner there with their parents. What if she would have dropped that chowder on one of them? She did know that answer; she never would have been able to live with herself if she would have unknowingly done to someone else what was done to her, especially if it was done to a child.

It was that thought that sealed her decision.

Dropping her hands to her thighs and plopping hard against the back if her seat, Kagome glanced to the ceiling for a moment before she looked to Bankotsu. "That staircase has got to go. It's big, it's bulky, it's ridiculous, and I hate it. The kitchen is something out of an 80's nightmare, and I don't know the first thing about hosting a Tea Ceremony."

Pure amusement overtook Bankotsu's face as he brought his beer bottle back to his lips, speaking into the opening with a chuckle in his voice. "That's my girl."


	24. Chapter 24

**I know it's short, and I'm sorry. I caught the flu last week, and I have been working on my next release. But... I have Dear Agony just about ready to update, and Little Dove as well. So... the next week should be pretty super as far as updates go!**

~ **Kouga's Eternal**

 ***X***

Killing his beer, Bankotsu lightly set the bottle on the table next to him, tsking as he swallowed before grinning at Kagome. "It's nice, isn't it?" To the expected question of 'what is', he settled more into his seat and crossed his arms. "Finally acknowledging the fact you do actually have the ability to speak up about or change things you don't like." When he saw her raise a brow at him, he shrugged. "I'm not just talking about the house, Pretty Girl; it's just the latest thing on the list. To be honest, there are several other things that will be changed, above and beyond the staircase, the kitchen, and that out of place tea room once we're allowed to start knocking down walls. I have no desire to father seven children, so as an aside if you want that many kids, you're shit out of luck. Because I have no intention of having seven little brats running around this place, nor do I have any intention of moving again, there's no need for ten bedrooms between the second and third floors."

Unable to help it, pure relief washed over Kagome as she let out of hard breath. "Oh, thank the Gods." At her husband's inquisitive look, she shook her head with a light chuckle. "Generally, people from big families want big families, but to be honest, I don't believe my vagina has the capability of handling such a large order of loin minions."

Choking on the snort that got caught in his throat, Bankotsu cleared the lump and laughed. "We'll... get to that in a minute, but, um, what I was saying was, I gave you an opportunity to tell me what you actually thought about the place, and even though I _saw_ the disgust on your face at the prospect of changing absolutely nothing, you still went with 'well, it's your house, so I don't get to have an opinion'. It wasn't until I gave you that check and phrased my statement the way I did that you opened up about what you didn't like." Bouncing his knee, Bankotsu tilted his head and got very serious. "Now, I don't know how long you think two million dollars is going to last, but I am here to tell you it will not last forever if you use such a large portion of it to buy this house. When it runs out, are we going to end up back in the 'mine versus yours' debate we've been having since the day we got married? Even after everything we agreed to four months ago?"

Pointing a finger in Bankotsu's face, there was still a smile on Kagome's lips. "Hey, I agreed to the terms of 'necessary purchases'. We have a house, and..."

Reaching out and wrapping his fingers around the one in his face, Bankotsu leaned forward as he pulled his arm back, and effectively, brought Kagome nose to nose with him. "And, you don't feel safe there. I happen to believe that you feeling safe in your own home _makes_ this necessary." Kissing the tip of her nose, he her finger go and leaned back, saying nothing as he just looked at her. They had so many 'debates' over this topic, he had learned how make her think about his words and not something's price tag.

And... it worked, while it also clearly pissed her off.

Puckering her lips as she dropped against the back of her chair again, Kagome huffed and crossed her arms. "Damn it." Cutting her eyes to Bankotsu, she made a face at his questioning look. "Jakotsu was right, wasn't he? About me being a brat?"

Nose wrinkling, Bankotsu once again held out his hand, closing his fingers around Kagome's when she placed her hand in his, gave her arm a tug, and readjusted how he was sitting before pulling her down into his lap. Wrapping his arm around her back and setting his hand along Kagome's thigh, he then leaned his head against two fingers under his cheek bone and with a grin on his lips, he shook his head. "You're not a brat. You're... spirited." Seeing her expression level out, he chuckled. "So you can be a brat sometimes. So what? You're allowed to be bratty, Kagome. I find it incredibly endearing, honestly. Truth be told, that's not even the case most of the time. You don't want to be taken care of, and I can appreciate that. I can also appreciate your mother raised you to be a very independent young lady, and I love that about you. That said, though, some of your lines in the sand are..." pausing a moment to think of the word, he hummed, "...gratuitous."

Settling in Bankotsu's lap, Kagome scoffed as she crossed her arms. "Name one." Lips pressing together the moment Bankotsu touched the charm of the necklace he bought her with a raised brow, her nose wrinkled. "Okay... I'll give you that. That was an unnecessary fit I threw over the necklace."

Brow raising higher as the memory of her flat out refusal to accept the present resurfaced in his mind, Bankotsu snorted. "Do you really think so? I thought you were going to smack me with the case."

Looking away from his piercing eyes, Kagome cleared her throat as she tapped her finger on her arm. "I... thought about it." Still refusing to make eye contact following the noise that slipped from Bankotsu's lips at the admission, she scratched her temple. "It... wasn't..." Letting out a sigh, she looked back and licked her lips. "Super expensive presents make me uncomfortable, because my third year in high school, there was this guy, and he was of the opinion that... buying girls pretty and expensive presents meant he was allowed to do whatever he wanted with them, but more terrifyingly, to them. It took Kouga stepping in to get this guy to leave me alone, and all he could say was... I bought her this or I bought her that, she _owes_ me. Kouga told him I didn't owe him shit because Kami forbid he actually listened to _me_ when I said so; nevermind the fact I never accepted the damn presents. It took months for him to go away, and the girl he went after after that had to transfer to a different school because he became very violent after she told him no."

Before Bankotsu could chime in with anything pertaining to that, Kagome continued in hopes he wouldn't when she was done explaining herself. "Another reason is, those kinds of presents are for when the relationship becomes serious, and it hadn't been very long. I've had relationships before, but they weren't... anything really all that special. Like, as sad as this might sound, this is actually my longest one to date... at six and half months. So... yeah, there's that."

Drawing a circle on Kagome's thigh with his thumb as he listened, Bankotsu nodded slowly when she finished with a click of his tongue. "To remind you, this is the house I grew up in. The fact our family was pretty damn wealthy wasn't uncommon knowledge, however after my parents died, we didn't have access to any of it outside our inheritance. When they died, Jakotsu and I were still in high school, so we had trust funds to support us until we graduated, but we didn't control it; Ryu did. If we needed something, we had to call him, and he would either get it for us, or give us just enough money to get it ourselves if he didn't have the time.

"My parents died very shortly after I started high school. Six weeks, to the day, after me and my brothers put them in the ground, this little bitch, who was in Jakotsu's class, looked me dead in the eyes and told me if I didn't get her this choker she wanted, that cost thousands of dollars, she would tell everyone I raped her. She was two years ahead of me, so I had never seen her before, and when I told her I still wasn't buying her shit, regardless of the threat, she followed up her extortion by calling me a pathetic little orphan before running to her boyfriend and telling him I grabbed her tits. That was fun.

"I got my first actual girlfriend my third year of high school, and that came to an end after she got pregnant and claimed it was mine. I was like shit, but we were having sex, so okay. I didn't really question it, but Ryu did. I was only seventeen, so he was still the Lord of my life. That summer when the baby was born, super cute little girl, Ryu demanded a paternity test before I signed the birth certificate. Turned out, the baby wasn't mine. When the mother was told, the little tramp came clean about the fact she _knew_ the baby wasn't mine, but because I was rich, I was a better financial option than the baby's actual father, who knew about it all. When pressed further, she then told Ryu she and the baby's father decided together to pin the baby on me, take me to court and demand an ungodly amount of child support, keep the child from me since it wasn't biologically mine, while she and this other guy raised their daughter together on my dime."

Shaking his head and biting into the corner of his lip, Bankotsu closed his eyes in thought before nodding and reopening his eyes. "My next titled girlfriend was Kagura, and you already know how that shit show ended."

Only slightly less than completely horrified, Kagome stared at him with parted lips and a creased brow. It took her a pretty decent amount of time to get her mouth working and her choice of words caught her husband off guard. "How the fuck do you trust any creature of the pussied persuasion?"

His own face mirroring hers, but for a completely different reason, there was something like awe in Bankotsu's voice when he finally spoke. "Pussied persuasion? Loin minions? Where the hell are you getting this shit from?"

Looking only slightly embarrassed, Kagome cleared her throat. "Some of my medicine makes me weird."

Giving a very shallow nod of his head, Bankotsu grunted out an 'uh huh'. After a moment, he shook his head. "Anyway, my point was, we all have bad experiences with the opposite sex. The trick though, is to not let those past experiences tant the future ones. I understand it's very easy to draw parallels between two people during similar circumstances, but it's not really fair, especially when the two actual people couldn't be more different. I could be wrong, and you'll have to tell me if I am, but I don't think I've done anything to suggest I wanted to buy you shit just to entice you into my bed. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but that's exactly where we were when I gave it to you."

Lip twisting to the side, Kagome made a noise in her throat. "There were bedroom activities, but we were actually on the couch."

Rolling his head on his shoulders, Bankotsu clicked his tongue. "Doesn't negate the point, does it? Actually, it proves it." At her inquisitive look, he clarified. "You were already sleeping with me when I gave it to you, so how could it possibly have been an enticement to get you to do what you were already doing?"

Though Kagome opened her mouth, she just as quickly clicked it shut and wrinkled her nose. While she didn't really want to, she had no choice but to say, "Point taken." Changing how she was sitting into a little more comfortable one, she ran her fingers through her hair before wrapping her arms around Bankotsu's shoulders, feeling him shift slightly under her to accommodate her new position. Once she was settled, she let out a breath, deciding to backtrack into the conversation a little bit and clear something up. "It's not that I don't want to be taken care of or whatever. I mean, I don't, but it's like...okay before I didn't need to rely on someone else because I was able to take care of myself, and I might have been kinda bratty about it, but I felt like I had to prove to everyone else that I wanted you and not everything that happened to come with you. Then, that ability was taken away literally overnight, and I'm having a hard time adjusting to it because like, now I don't have that choice anymore, and it feels like all of that effort was wasted."

Even hearing the tone in his wife's voice, and knowing how serious the situation was to her, it didn't stop the quiet snort or keep the smirk from turning up the corner of Bankotsu's lips. "Pretty Girl, that shit was wasted from the git-go." When she looked at him, he grinned. "I kept trying to tell you the only one that cared about any of that was you. Now, I'm not saying your concerns weren't somewhat backed up, or at least exacerbated by my brother or that series of tabloids, and because of that I can see your point to an extent. The issue I had with the whole thing was, those were the people you were listening to, because they were confirming shit you already thought. What I said went in one ear and out the other when, honestly, what I was saying is what should have mattered. You were so laser focused on how our relationship was seen by others, we almost didn't have one at all."

Unable to help it, Kagome frowned slightly as she, finally, let what Bankotsu was saying sink in. It wasn't like she could dispute it; she had basically just said the same thing, but she hadn't let his point of view on her thoughts really take root in her mind. She didn't really have a reason for why that was, or at least one that was any good. She knew he didn't care about public image, and he never had. He basically did whatever the hell he wanted, and damn the consequences.

If she actually allowed herself to be honest, she would be able to admit that was a trait of his she was extremely envious of. Bankotsu just didn't give a fuck, and she wanted that ability.

When Kagome stayed silent and averted her eyes after he saw something flash through them, Bankotsu sighed to himself before lifting a hand, slid his fingers into Kagome's hair and cupped her cheek. Looking her in the eyes when she looked back at him, he smiled at her. "For now, why don't you not worry about it. Let's get through this sea of bullshit, and after some of the other crap is dealt with, then we'll tackle this. Believe it or not, not everything has to be figured out right this minute."

Leaning her head into Bankotsu's palm, a small smile turned up the corner of Kagome's lips. "Are you sure?"

Leaning closer to her, Bankotsu lowered his voice. "Positive."


	25. Chapter 25

In the days following their conversation on the porch, Kagome took Bankotsu's advice and didn't worry about the check from Toga, and instead, threw herself into the design plans for the house, with Jakotsu's help, but under the watchful eye of Bankotsu. No, he wasn't micromanaging the remodel, but what he was doing was making sure Jakotsu didn't keep trying to steamroll Kagome and take over like he had the first day.

Jakotsu and Kagome were sitting at the dining table, all matter of fabrics, paint swatches, tile samples, flooring samples, and anything else one could think of spread all over the surface. To someone that didn't know Jakotsu, it would look like he was doing exactly what he said, he was there to help, but since Bankotsu knew his brother, when he walked in the room and saw an almost helpless look on his wife's face, he was quick to realize that what was happening was Jakotsu had taken some over-stepping liberties, and Kagome didn't know how to tell him no.

So he did.

Leaning over his brother's shoulder, he spoke in Jakotsu's ear. "I will have primary colored circles painted on every last wall and black and white checkered tiles put on the floors throughout the _entire_ house if you don't back off." Jakotsu looked at him with wide eyed horror and stammered out a 'you wouldn't', to which Bankotsu smirked. "Try me." Then, with a wink at his wife, he went into the kitchen to get some coffee like that didn't happen.

Deciding it was time to take a break and let Jakotsu sit with the very real threat of his worst nightmare, Kagome excused herself from the table and followed Bankotsu into the kitchen. Taking up a space at the island, she laced her fingers together and leaned on the counter, watching Bankotsu move about the room to gather what he was after, nodding at to him when he asked her if she wanted a cup herself. She remained silent as she took in his appearance, brows drawing down when she didn't recognize his clothes. Then again, he had more clothes than she did, and she wasn't stupid enough to think she had seen his entire wardrobe. "You look nice. I don't think I've seen that suit yet."

Bankotsu just shrugged a shoulder as he finished getting the coffee going before turning around and leaning back against the counter, crossing his arms and ankles. "You haven't. It's my father's."

Blinking at the answer, Kagome made an uncomfortable noise in her throat. "And are you okay wearing it?"

Once, again, Bankotsu popped a shoulder. "I'm fine with it. Besides, I have a meeting in an hour, so I don't have time to stop by the house for something of mine that's clean. It was either this or go dressed like a bum."

Unable to help it, Kagome snorted and rolled her eyes. "Right, like that's possible. Even your laying around the house clothes are date night acceptable for normal people."

A brow slowly slid up to meet his bangs as Bankotsu's head tilted to the side. "Normal people, huh? Are you saying I'm not normal?"

Grinning at the playful tone of his voice, Kagome shrugged slightly. "I'm saying you don't even own a pair of sweatpants, Bankotsu, so it's impossible for you to look like a bum." When his response was a snort, Kagome bent her arms and propped her chin on her knuckles. "So, what's this meeting for? Another grand business venture?"

Uncrossing his arms, Bankotsu wrapped his fingers around the edge of the counter, his lips pursing for a moment in thought. "It is according to the guy that asked for the meeting, but it almost sounded like he was looking for a partner, and I don't usually involve myself like that. Even still, either way, if he expects to use my wallet as his own personal piggy bank, he better fucking have an ironclad business model full of damn good reasons."

A look of understanding settled on Kagome's face as she picked her head up. "He couldn't get an actual loan, so he's hoping to get one from you."

Rolling his head on his shoulders, Bankotsu hummed. "I don't know, but it's probably something like that since it usually is. However, I very much doubt he realizes how much harder it is to convince me that some random, half-assed cooked up business plan is a good idea, or how many more strings come attached to my involvement. Honestly, the only reason I'm even going is because I'm more curious about the man that has the balls to ask for millions of dollars than I am the reason behind it."

One thing Kagome wasn't sure she would ever get used to was just how easily Bankotsu talked about money. He threw around amounts in the millions like she referred to amounts in the hundreds, and even now, it was still mind boggling. Biting into the corner of her lip as she lowered her arms back to the counter, she drummed her nails against it and, though thought her tone was unsure, she still asked. "How much money is he asking for?"

A smirk pulled at Bankotsu's lips, his tongue gliding along his top lip as he looked at his wife. "Do you really wanna know?" He waited, and answered her after she flicked her eyes to his. "A hundred and twenty million."

More or less positive she just choked on her heart, Kagome's jaw hit the counter as her eyes bugged out of her skull. "What kind of brass balls does someone have to grow to ask a perfect fucking stranger for that kind of money?"

With a snap of his fingers, Bankotsu pointed at his wife. "And now we're on the same page as to why I agreed to this meeting." Crossing his arms and settling against the counter, he then crossed his ankles. "The answer is I honestly have no idea. You learn, rather quickly, these kind of people are out there, the ones that want some astronomical, unrealistic amount of money while doing the most minimal amount of work for it. My brother is one of those, so I've learned the signs."

Her voice was breathless and strained. "And you have that to just... give away like that? Even with the pending purchase of this place?"

Smirk growing, Bankotsu slowly nodded his head. "In spades. Besides, the money for the two completely different things come from two completely different accounts. I keep my business account separate from our personal accounts. I don't spend a penny from my business account for personal luxuries, and I certainly don't flip it. Twice a year a percentage of profits go from business to personal, but other than that, I reinvest everything I make."

With a clog in her throat, Kagome watched Bankotsu turn his back to her and pull two cups from the hooks under the counter. As he poured their coffee, the tips of her fingers pressed against her lips, her mind flying and she asked before she took the time to talk herself out of it. "So... how much money do you have?"

Pausing as he replaced the decanter back on the hotplate, Bankotsu bit into his bottom lip as he thought about the question. He had actually never thought about it, and though he was more than proficient at math and could answer if he had his financial paperwork, off the top of his head, he didn't know. So, that's what he told her as he picked up their coffee and turned, taking the two steps between the back counter to the island. "I have no idea, but you're welcome to call Ginkotsu if you really want to know. I'm sure he could tell you; or at least he better be."

Blinking at the answer, Kagome just stared at him as he set her coffee cup in front of her and brought his own to his lips. She tripped over her tongue, but she did get the question out. "What do you mean you have no idea?

Propping himself up on one hand on the island counter, still holding his coffee cup, Bankotsu could only shrug. "I mean exactly what I said; I have no idea. I know what I have access to on any given day, but overall? I don't know."

No less able to understand the words coming out of her husband's mouth, Kagome shook her head. "I don't understand how someone could possibly not know something like that."

Leaning forward on his forearms, Bankotsu cocked his head. "Well, not everything is in just one or two places. I own stocks and a handful of bonds. I have business investments all over the place. I have several CDs that are several years old that I took out before I made my first business investment, in case shit didn't pan out and I lost it all, that I just keep rolling over instead of closing when their terms expire as something of an insurance policy. I earn interests on almost everything, and I get involved in all kinds of shit. I do actually pay Ginkotsu, and I help fund Mukotsu's research. I have money coming in and money going out and moving from one place to another all the damn time, so personally keeping track of every single penny is fucking impossible."

Rolling her cup between her palms, Kagome attempted to digest what she was told, but after a moment or two, she just shook her head. "Okay, then." Bringing her cup to her lips, she took a large drink, and licked her lips clean before clicking her tongue and locking her eyes on his. "You're not going to this meeting alone, are you?"

Snorting with a grin, Bankotsu chuckled. "Hell no. I don't ever go to meetings like this by myself. As a matter of fact, when I leave here, I'm picking up Ren, Ky, and Ginko. I can't actually make the deal, even if I wanted to, without Ginkotsu because the amount _far_ exceeds the limitations without his sign off, and people are less likely to do really stupid shit when I tell them to fuck off when there is an entourage present."

Brows drawing, Kagome's lip curled. "Ginkotsu has to approve your business ventures?"

Bankotsu shook his head. "Not the way it sounds, no. I can do whatever the fuck I want, but after what happened when I was arrested, I made him the legal Executor of my estate. When we did that, we put checks and balances in place to prevent theft because I had no idea if Kagura had one of my checkbooks or not. We agreed that account transfers, any singular transaction over a certain amount, too many smaller transactions in too short of a time frame, or if money was spent on things or in places I wouldn't normally spend money, he has to sign off on it."

"Why didn't you just close that account?"

Bankotsu's face leveled out. "I did, but just because you close an account doesn't mean someone that had free reign of my apartment didn't discover what was needed to gain access to the new one. All Kagura would have needed was my name, birth date, and my social, all of which was in my apartment she invited herself to live in, and bam... she has what she needs to wreak havoc with my account online."

The mere mention of Kagura's name turned Kagome's mood completely south. She was already slightly stressed out due to Jakotsu's 'help' when it came to remodeling parts of the first floor, so when Bankotsu seemed to speak so easily about the woman who damn near ruined her life, Kagome's lips pressed together in a hard line, her arms crossed, and she dropped back in her stool, her eyes narrowed on the coffee cup sitting in front of her. She didn't say a single word for nearly a minute, and when she did, her voice was hard. "I fucking hate that woman." Flicking her eyes to Bankotsu's understanding ones, she let out a hard breath from her nose. "Don't... don't ever say her name around me again. I'm going to have everyone and their brother talking to me about her, and have to see her in person soon enough. I don't need her brought up by you, too."

It really came down to being indulgent when Bankotsu nodded to the request. He understood Kagome's position, and he didn't want to make things worse for her than they already were. So, with a quiet sigh through his nose, he clicked his tongue. "Alright. I won't."

Even though she did feel a little patronized by his agreement, as long he didn't actually do it, she didn't care. She really did know she wasn't being completely fair to him, and she did realize she just snapped at him, but what it came down to for her was that she wanted just one place she could go that wasn't tainted, that wasn't shrouded with the shadows of what happened, and if that was going to be anywhere, she felt she was perfectly within her lane to want that to be her home.

Which was where the recognized unfairness came in.

She knew the whole reason Bankotsu was jumping through the hoops he was jumping through for his brothers was because of what happened and he wanted her to have a home she felt safe staying in after what happened at the house they already had. No, she was still not overly happy about how he went about trying to buy it in the first place. She did think she deserved at least a little bit of a heads up after the conversation in their kitchen before Jakotsu and Ginkotsu left, but she had been told not to worry about it until there was something to worry about. She had pushed for something, but he told her she knew it wasn't in his hands, so there was nothing to tell her until he talked to his brothers. After he did, she figured out a lot of shit he could have told her, making the bomb at that dining room table much less of a direct hit, but as it stood, she had to agree his defense of her trying to talk him out of buying his childhood home was exactly what she would have done.

He was buying her a palace, and letting her do almost whatever she wanted with it, while he turned it into a fortress. Their first morning there, he was up before she was, making calls and checking out the state of the pool house and staff house. He agreed not to do anything to the place, but he was never told he couldn't make it safer until he was allowed to update the security system. By lunch, there were two more people shaking up with the three live in staff members, only they were there purely for Kagome. They weren't bodyguards persey, but they were trained in private security, so if Bankotsu wasn't home, she wasn't alone. They turned out to actually be very nice and so unobtrusive Kagome actually forgot they were there once or twice, which made for a spectacular show she was sure when she walked around the corner the next afternoon and they were playing cards at the dining room table. They were also there to take her wherever she wanted to go so she wasn't stuck in the house all the time.

While she appreciated sentiment, it was things like hiring Muso and Jinenji that kept events she would rather not think about in the forefront. On the other hand, they were only around if Bankotsu or someone else wasn't. Otherwise, they made themselves scarce while still making sure no one was coming around that shouldn't be.

It wasn't much longer after she snapped at him about saying his ex's name around her Bankotsu left, and things went much smoother for Kagome when it came to Jakotsu after that. She and Jakotsu had started with reimagining the kitchen, and through Jakotsu's input, they were able to figure out a way to almost replicate the wall of glass doors Kagome loved about Bankotsu's house. It wouldn't be able to be exactly the same because there were sections of wall that were loadbaring, but with the images Jakotsu painted for her, she didn't care.

The sink was currently on the back wall with a pass through window, but by moving the sink to the island and taking out the cabinets and counters, they could remove the wall and put in doors, leaving a three foot corner to house the glass when they were open, which was where Kagome decided the refrigerator was going to go instead of where it was across the room, making it much more functional layout.

The two of them worked out together the plan to expand the kitchen out onto the porch, giving Bankotsu the outdoor kitchen he wanted. It would be made with all the same counters, and the cabinets would be the same color as the ones inside, but made with more amicable materials.

The island, which was pretty pathetic for the size of the kitchen, was nearly tripled in size to accommodate the loss of counter and storage space, and would now house the sink, dishwasher, and microwave. Given the choice between a counter between the kitchen and dining room or a double wall oven, Kagome picked the double oven, and decided the range would go on the back wall with prep space to either side.

Once she settled on tile flooring that looks like wood, the kitchen design was finished and they moved on to the Tea room, which came with the issue of Kagome not having a single idea what to do with it. It had taken about an hour of back and forth between her and Jakotsu, and it was actually him that cracked the code. He had made the suggestion that, since Bankotsu was adamant about the game room upstairs staying put, she could turn that room into her own little space, which Kagome loved the idea of. Since she didn't know exactly what she wanted to do with it, she said she would think about it for a couple of days.

The next thing they tackled was that ridiculous staircase, and that was easy. The whole damn thing was coming out, and was going to be replaced with a much less gaudy looking staircase off to the side and along the wall on the living room side. As far as that massive room went, Kagome found out it was actually at one time two rooms, but when they were younger, Ginkotsu and Kyokotsu were rough housing and broke the wall, so it was taken out because their parents figured it would just happen again. When Bankotsu found that out, he told her to wait until after the appraisal to make any decisions on the first floor outside the kitchen, because 'load bearing' was a guideline that came with walls, and he didn't want any. While Kagome had no idea what the fuck he planned to do with so much open square footage, she just shrugged it off as mostly unimportant when he told her to just trust him.

While Kagome kept herself busy with the plans for the kitchen remodel, Bankotsu had been in touch with some appraisers he had worked with in the past, knowing they would do a very thorough job, and after discussing it with his brothers, decided to have three separate appraisals done on the property, find the average, and use that as the sale price. Once those times were set up, he also went ahead and brought in the contractor he used for his own house, and did a walkthrough with him and Kagome. While at first the man had taken notes, when Bankotsu got to the part of not needing two master suites and wanting to vault the ceiling in the living room by moving the attic access to the other end of the hall, the poor guy went white before reminding Bankotsu of the conversation they had about overall integrity of a house's structure, to which Bankotsu shrugged, making the man sigh. However, Bankotsu knew for a fact there was absolutely no way the bedrooms and bathroom on the third floor were going to fly past code enforcement because there were no fire escapes, so those walls were going to have to come down. Because of that, he saw no reason that moving attic access from one side of the hall to the other to accommodate how he wanted the first floor to look should be out of the realm of possibility.

Besides, the master suite that he wanted taken out was his parent's room, and there was absolutely no way he would ever be able to see it as anything else.

The contractor, exasperated, questioned Bankotsu on pipes and wires, which led to him rolling his eyes and say that something needed to hold up the second floor, and pillars would work just fine to hide plumbing and electrical, so unless Scott wanted to move the second floor from the back of the house to the front of the house, he needed to use a little imagination.

At which point, Kagome chimed in, asking if he could really do that. If given the option, she would rather have the entire back of the house opened than the front, and was willing to sacrifice the natural light from the front windows to do it. Finding herself under the weight of a look of pure betrayal by the contractor, Kagome happily pointed out he was the one that didn't like the idea of using pillars to hold up the second floor, and since there were going to have to be rooms on the first floor, this was the way to give him his precious walls to hide the wiring and pipes while still giving Bankotsu the openness he wants.

It was always entertaining to Bankotsu when he could actually watch someone's eyes spark with the realization they were fighting a losing battle, and with a grin on his lips, he handed over the blueprints to the house when he was asked for them, and showed Scott to the door when he relented and said he would make some calls and see what he could do about accommodating their ridiculous requests and get back to them in a couple of weeks for approval when he had the new plans done.

Once that was done, all that was left was for the appraisals to be completed and they actually bought the property. When those took place, each one ended up looking at different things, and though not a single one said a word to either Bankotsu or Kagome as they did their walks, there were a handful of looks cast toward the couple when they uncovered some of the more outdated aspects. Whether they were looks of mild irritation or disappointment over letting what was once a magnificent home fall into such a state was really anyone's guess, but Bankotus just shrugged them off. The house itself was almost seventy years old, and though it had been modernized within the last thirty years, if they expected pristine condition after basically being ignored for close to a decade, that was their problem.

As it stood, however, now there was nothing left for the couple to do as far as the house went until the reports were turned over and the as-is value was figured out.


	26. Chapter 26

Walking in the front door, Bankotsu was immediately assaulted with the stench of burnt garlic and bread as well as the lingering remnants of a smoke cloud.

Dropping everything in his hands, he darted through the house, calling Kagome's name and moving faster when there wasn't an immediate answer. Knocking over a dining chair when the worn soles on his dress shoes didn't grip the floor, he scrambled for his footing, lunging into the kitchen when he found it. What he saw when he once again slid to a stop sent a cringe down to the bottom of his soul. He did find his wife, and physically she looked fine, but that was where an sort of 'fine' ended.

She was sat on the floor amidst pure chaos in the form of shattered glass, flour, broken eggs, and tomato sauce that were all smeared together. On the floor few feet to one side of her was a pan that laid on it side surrounded by half cooked hamburger and was where he assumed the smell of garlic was coming from. To her other side was the oven, that was open, which explained the bread and smoke.

Kagome, not opening her eyes, just kept her head down as she cleared her throat. "I used..." Swallowing hard and licking her lips, she opened her eyes and turned to look at the more shocked than anything Bankotsu, and tried again. "I used to be really good at this."

Forcing himself to clamp down his own emotions, Bankotsu slowly nodded as he moved around the island, ignoring the mess completely as he made his way to the counter, egg shells and glass crunching under is shoes. "I know." Picking up a pot holder, he bent and pulled the cookie sheet out of the oven, doing his best not to wrinkle his nose at the discovery that the overly bitter smell of burnt garlic was actually coming from there.

Kagome watched from her spot on the floor at Bankotsu double checked the knobs to make sure she turned everything off before he tossed the sheet that had the charcoal that was supposed to be from scratch garlic bread onto the island counter. Drawing her bottom lip between her teeth, she then moved her eyes to his presented hand. Scratching her cheek with one hand, she took his with the other, letting him both help her to her feet and then out of her mess. Taking a seat in the stool he pulled out for her her, she propped her chin in her palm and waited for him to say something, because really? She was positive there was a lot to say about what he walked into.

Bankotsu, however, just looked around the floor, saying nothing as he tried to figure out the nest way to go about cleaning it up. She was clearly upset enough, and he didn't see any reason to make it worse by asking what the hell happened. Besides, it wasn't like the answer was going to magically change the fact it did. Instead, he just turned his eyes on her once he had the full picture of the mess. "Are you alright?"

Giving a shallow nod, Kagome sighed. "I'm fine."

He might not actually say the words, but he knew she knew him well enough at this point that all he had to do was lean on the edge of the counter, cross his arms, and cock a brow, and she would he asked without him actually having to.

And he was right.

Averting her eyes for a moment, Kagome sighed again as she looked back at him. "I'm sick of take out and I know how to cook, so I asked Jakotsu if he would pick up what I needed to actually make dinner. Everything was going fine. I made the bread dough, and it rose beautifully. It was seasoned great and it went it in the oven without issue. I started on the sauce, which is the easiest part of the whole thing. Onions and garlic when in, and then the seasoned meat. While it was browning I opened the cans of tomato sauce, poured it in a bowl and added the herbs. All is going fine. I stirred the meat so it didn't burn and went back to the sauce. Then I start to smell burning garlic. I go back to the meat, turn down the burner, but there was more steam and popping than there should have been, so I'm thinking that's the problem. I take the pot off the stove to drain the grease, but turn the wrong fucking direction, and since I couldn't see where I was at, I knocked everything off the fucking counter, and I startle myself so much by the crash that came with it, I dropped the pot.

"Everything now destroyed, I just start cleaning it up, and since I thought the burning smell was the pot, I didn't put any more thought into it, until I realized the smell wasn't going away, but actually getting worse. That's when I remembered the fucking bread. Opened the oven door, and this thick cloud of smoke billows out. So, I turn off the oven and open the doors and window, and then you came in."

Making a mental note to stomp the shit out of his brother for not only making it possible for Kagome to use an oven that hadn't been touched in ten years, but for also leaving her alone while she did it, Bankotsu ran his fingers across his lips as he sighed through his nose. Taking his chin between his thumb and forefinger, he cleared his throat. "Kagome, these appliances are fifteen years old, and haven't been used in almost a decade. That's why we've been having takeout, Pretty Girl. I know you know how to cook. I know how to do it too, but these appliances are a fire hazard. However, as per the agreement with my brothers, until the papers are signed, I'm not allowed to replace them."

Dropping her hand, Kagome sniffled. "But you replaced the refrigerator."

Bankotsu didn't dispute that. He nodded at the statement as he recrossed his arms. "Yes, but, a refrigerator is a basic necessity that I did have to get permission for. That's the only way to keep food fresh, but an oven and range aren't the only way to obtain food. It's the easiest, but not the only. There's eating out, take away, my grill, a basic fire pit to name a few I was told. Replacing the rest of the kitchen appliances is at the top of the priority list, but Baby, it's still going to be another couple of days."

Unable to stop herself, Kagome scoffed hard. "So, you're telling me your brothers would rather bump us back to the feudal era and cook over an open flame in the backyard over letting you replace two more fucking appliances?" When Bankotsu shrugged at her, she scoffed again, crossing her own arms with a huff. "Your brothers are stupid."

Chuckling in the back of his throat, Bankotsu shrugged again. "You'll get no argument from me." Pushing himself off the counter, he closed the distance between himself and his wife, spinning her stool around and trapping her in her seat between himself and his arms to either side of her. Bending at the waist, he got eye level with her and tilted his head. "Why don't you go upstairs to change, and figure out where you want to go for dinner."

While that was a clear statement, Kagome still shrank back from it. "Go? Like, as in out?"

Nodding, Bankotsu hummed in his throat. "Mmmhmm. You have to come face to face with humanity eventually, Pretty Girl."

Kagome's voice became almost petulant as her nose wrinkled. "Why?" Watching as Bankotsu's expression flattened out, she sighed hard, speaking as she did so. "Fine. I guess it has been an... inexcusable amount of time since I've seen Kouga, and the last time I did I hit him with my cane. He probably thinks I hate him now or something at this point."

It was then Bankotsu's turn to jerk back from the conversation, and he did nothing to hide his shock. "You have your pick of anywhere in the entire city, and you're choosing Kamono?" Though it took her a moment, Kagome did nod and he licked his lips. "Can I ask why?" If that's where she wanted to eat, then fine, but he couldn't figure out why she would ever walk back in that place.

So, Kagome explained it as best she could. "I have to face Kagura in two weeks, and... I... can't, right now. I'm not... who I was and I know I have to stop trying to be, but that doesn't mean she gets to claim she won. I..." Looking to the ceiling, Kagome's lips parted as she searched for the words, hoping they made sense. "I need something she took from me back." Returning her eyes to Bankotsu, her eyes begged him to understand. "I think... maybe that's why I tried cooking tonight. I was good at it, and I really enjoyed doing it and... and I really wanted that back, but I'm not there yet." Tears filled Kagome's eyes as gulped down a small lump that formed in her throat. "I can't face her if she took everything, Bankosu, so I need something back. And, if I can make through an hour at the place it happened, then... then maybe I won't want to throw up all the time. Maybe I can walk into that courtroom and not piss my pants becaused," pointing at herself, "I won. I can hold my head high because I'm not destroyed, because I won. I can look her in eyes, and not be afraid of her, because she didn't defeat me, because I have already won."

Moving a hand to cup Kagome's cheek, Bankotsu brushed away a tear that broke free, and lowered his voice. "Are you sure you're ready to go there?"

Leaning into his palm, Kagome swallowed hard. "Ya know... I've done a lot of things in the last six months I wasn't sure I was ready to do. They turned out pretty okay, and I think this will turn out pretty okay, too."

A slow smirk pulled at the corner of Bankotsu's lips as his eyes crinkled in the corners. "Marrying me was one of those things."

Sniffling, Kagome nodded slightly, her own lips fighting a small smile. "And it's turned out pretty okay so far."

Snorting softly, Bankotsu shook his head as he locked their eyes. "You're a brat."

Kagome just shrugged. "Yeah, but you knew that before hand."

Scoffing out a chuckle, Bankotsu pushed himself to stand. "Go change." Moving out of her way, he waited until she was standing before snagging her by the hips and looking down at her. "Ya know, Pretty Girl; you're putting a lot of pressure on a meal. Especially since had you tried to cook at our old place, you would have succeeded."

Wiping both of her cheeks, Kagome licked her lips and cleared the last of the emotion from her voice. "It's not about the meal, Bank. It's about the win that comes out of it. I know it doesn't make sense, and I can't explain it, but I could really use one of those."

Drumming his fingers against Kagome's skin, Bankotsu glanced at the clock and hummed in thought for a moment before he tsked. "It's Thursday, so Jakotsu will be there. We can always take him up on his offer to join him since he was about ninety percent of the reason you liked that place. It might make this easier for you."

Also looking to the close, Kagome bit into her lip. "Can we make in time?"

Nodding and releasing her, Bankotsu flicked his fingers at her. "If you hurry."

Lighting up, Kagome walked backwards as she spoke. "Give me twenty minutes."

As she turned and rushed from the kitchen, Bankotsu called after her. "You only have fifteen." At the 'shit' followed by 'okay', Bankotsu scratched his forehead as he returned his attention to the mess all over the kitchen floor that still needed cleaned up.

Not being quite as nonchelount as he was the first time, he was a little more careful walking through the spilled sauce as he went to the cupboard that held the coffee. Making a noise in the back of his throat as he pulled the container from its place, there was a harder debate with himself than there should have been over using it to dry out the mess to make it easier to clean up. If there was no coffee in the morning Kagome would kill him, but at the moment, without going to the servant's quarters, he didn't have what was necessary. Resigning himself to dealing with the fallout as it came up, he shook the coffee can out across the floor and tossing the container in the trash when it was empty.

Leaving it to do what was intended and dry out the liquid, Bankotsu pulled his phone out with one hand and used the other to hop up and sit on the counter. Dialing Jakotsu's number, he grabbed a towel to clean off the bottom of his shoes with, and set the phone to his ear as he did just that. When there was the normal greeting in his ear, followed by a crack, Bankotsu paused in cleaning his shoe and blinked at the wall. "The fuck was that?"

There was a hard sigh before Jakotsu's much more voice sounded in his ear. " _That, is the biggest mistake I have ever made coming back to bite me in the ass._ "

Hearing a very familiar voice, Bankotsu chuckled. "Let me guess, Princess. Your prince came back and wasn't overly impressed with finding out you're a whore."

" _I am no such thing, and I did nothing wrong._ " There was a raising of both Jakotsu's voice and his temper as there was another loud noise in the background. " _You cannot cheat on someone who broke up with you."_

Bankotsu, however, did have something of a fondness for Jakotsu's ex, and shrugged as he went back to cleaning his shoes. "He left because you wouldn't commit, dumbass. You broke that shit off way before he did."

" _Either way, I cannot fathom how someone can be so exceptionally pissed off over what happened after the relationship ended."_

"My wife is blind in one eye because of shit that happened after a break up."

" _Yes, but, the difference is, Kagura didn't do what she did because you're married. She did what she did because your money is out of her reach due to marriage and she's a penniless hag."_

Rolling his head on his shoulders in something of agreement, Bankotsu decided to let that statement lay where it was and focused on the issue with his brother. "So, when did Hojo get back into town?"

" _A few hours ago, I suppose; I don't fucking know. All I know is he showed up here, more pissed off than he has any right to be, throwing one hell of temper tantrum."_

Not even trying not to hide his amusement at the memories of seeing this particular man having a hissy fit, Bankotsu grinned as he tossed the towel to the side, leaned back against the cupboard, and crossed his now free arm across his chest. "Do you need rescued, Princess?"

" _This isn't funny, Bankotsu. It's going to take forever to clean up his mess, and so you cannot get pissed about it later, he thought the handful of shirts of yours in the spare room belonged to someone else."_

Nose wrinkling, Bankotsu grunted. Well, he did like the guy. "You let that son of a bitch shred my clothes?"

" _I didn't LET his ass do anything, you get that shit straight right now."_

"Well, you sure as shit didn't stop him if he fucking succeeded."

" _Was there something you needed? I'm a little busy right now, Darling."_ Bankotsu opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by Jakotsu yelling. " _It's my fucking brother, now shut the hell up."_

Becoming slightly concerned, Bankotsu shifted on the counter and cleared his throat. "Do I need to call the police _?"_

" _No, I can handle him just fine. Now, what was it you needed, Bank?"_

"I didn't need anything. I was calling to ask if you were going to Kamono tonight?"

" _Why the hell wouldn't I? If I didn't change my life when I was with the man, why the fuck would I do so now?"_

Bankotsu just lifted a shoulder. "How the hell would I know? I didn't even know he was back, remember?"

" _I always go there on Thursdays, and I don't intend to stop just because Hojo is in a titsy over imaginary infidelity. Why do you ask?"_

"I was just curious."

" _Bullshit, Bankotsu. You have never cared before, so I don't believe that for a moment. Is there something wrong?"_

Hesitating answering that for a moment, Bankotsu cut his eyes to the ceiling, knowing Kagome was right above his head, and frowned. Even knowing for a fact she couldn't hear him, he still lowered his voice. "I don't know."

Jakotsu's voice also changed, but there was a harder edge to his than there was to Bankotsu's? "What do you mean, you don't know?"

Looking at his nails, Bankotsu recrossed his arms as he sighed through his nose. "Kagome wants to go, but I don't how she's going to react once she's actually there."

No one could surprise someone quite like Bankotsu, and the shock to the statement came out in Jakotsu's voice. " _I'm sorry, you said what now?"_

"I really don't think I need to repeat that."

" _No, you don't, but it hasn't been that long, and she hasn't been back since it happened. Hell, Bankotsu, she's barely gone out in public at all since it happened. Are you sure this is a good idea?"_

Once again, Bankotsu couldn't do anything but shrug. "She does."

" _But you don't."_

"Not at all. I think it's a horrible idea. But, she has her reasons, and I swear to the Kami, Jakotsu, they'll break your fucking heart."

There was a short pause before Jakotsu spoke again. " _The entirety of the situation revolving around My Little Precious breaks my heart, Bank. I never in a million years would have wanted this to be the reason you finally accepted my dinner invitation, and I hate that it is. But, if it's what Precious wants. I'll be there at 6:30 as always, but what do you think will work best for her? Meeting outside or at the table?"_

"Outside. Kouga works tonight, so we can use him to get her through the door, but I might need some help when it comes to actually getting her that far. No matter what she says now, it'll be a completely different story when she's physically there. She needs this to happen, but you know how she can be."

" _Probably better than you do, Little Brother. I'll see you in an hour."_

For the most part, that hour went about as could be expected in Bankotsu's opinion.

It hadn't been long after he got off the phone with Jakotsu Kagome came back downstairs, and dressed to impress at that, wearing the same dress she wore the night the met. He might be bias, but he loved that dress on her. It showed off her long legs and hugged in the all the places. She wasn't wearing the same boots she wore that night, and instead wore a pair without a heel. Since she came home from the hospital she had figured out a way to style her hair so as to cover what she deemed to be the worst of the scar on her face and hide most of the eye patch, and though he told her every time she did it to stop it, she only ever met him halfway and stopped completely covering her face while in the house. It was all she was comfortable with as of yet, and Bankotsu had learned when pick his battles with her.

It was the car ride that was the most telling. Kagome actually started out rather excited, but with every mile that Bankotsu put under the tires, from the corner of his eye, he watched her become more and more tense, her voice changing octave and pitch every few words as she talked nearly nonstop. It couldn't even really be considered a conversation since Bankotsu didn't have enough time to respond before she moved on to the next topic. It was one of her more adorable personality quarks in his opinion. When she was nervous, she talked, a lot, and the more her nerves took hold of her, the faster she did so. It was one of the few things in an given situation she could control, and her mouth took that control and ran with it.

By the time Bankotsu rolled to a stop at the curb, Kagome's stomach was so knotted up, she honestly thought she was going to vomit. With horror on her face, she shifted in her seat to look at Bankotsu, shaking her head hard. "I can't do this. Take me home."

A slow smirk pulled at the corner of Bankotsu's lips as he put the car in park and grabbed the door handle. "Get out of the car, Kagome."

"But I..." Before she could finish the statement, Bankotsu was out of the car, and her door was being opened. Whipping back around, she gasped slightly at the face it was Jakotsu that opened it, and she tried with him to change her mind. "I don't want to do this anymore."

Jakotsu, in only the way he could, smiled as he held out a hand to help her out of the car. "One step at a time, Precious."

Kagome gulped. "I'm scared."

Jakotsu nodded. "I know, and that's okay, but the best way to move past that fear, is to face it.

Kagome licked her lips. "But..."

Jakotsu cut her off. "She's not here, My Darling."

Narrowing her uncovered eye, Kagome snapped at him. "I know that."

Jakotsu took it in stride. "Consciously, but that's not that good enough, is it? Consciously, you know exactly where she is, but it's not your conscious, rational mind that's keeping you in the car. It's irrational fear."

Now, Kagome was kind of pissed off. "It's not irrational."

Jakotsu, however, disagreed, and explained why as he crouched. "But it is, because you know it won't happen again. My Darling, if you really think about it, you're not afraid of what _will_ happen, you're afraid of something that already _did_. And it was awful, and many ways, it's still awful, but it's also unchangable. We don't get to go back, Kagome. All we get to do is go forward, one step at a time, dropping pieces along the way. Maybe we get pieces back, and maybe we don't, but that's... the beauty of life. We get to decide what each piece is worth. This place? It's one of your pieces, and if you don't want it back that's fine, but I don't think you would have come here if you didn't."

Swallowing hard, Kagome sniffled. "I'm hungry and dumped dinner all over the floor."

Jakotsu cocked a brow. "There are literally thousands of restaurants in this city, Kagome. Either do better than that or get out of the car, go inside, and get you piece back."

It was a staring contest that seemed to last a lifetime for those watching, waiting for Kagome to make her decision. It was when the onlookers thought she was going to back down she placed her hand in Jakotsu's and shifted her weight in preparation to stand. Her voice was flat but her eyes were thankful.

"You're mean."

Jakotsu just grinned as he pulled Kagome to her feet and handed her off to her husband. "I know, but I'm starving."


End file.
